[OT] Major League Lacrosse

I actually discovered this a week or so back while watching a Major League Lacrosse game on tv but forgot to post it. Justin Cynar is playing (well, on the bench as the backup) for the Baltimore Bayhawks of the MLL.

anyone have a concept of how much guys get paid in minor pro sports like lacrosse? (No slight to lax intended.) I'm curious whether there is a financial incentive to make a career out of it as opposed to getting a regular job with your degree. Not that I wouldn't play pro baseball for less money than I make now if someone would let me...

I have no clue, but I imagine that they would be making more than any entry-level post-grad job would give them. Also, athletes tend to have a harder time getting jobs because of the lack of time to do interviews and travel to the companies, so they often have only the alternative of being unemployed searching for a job in this market, or having a ball playing their sport. Knowing how little I make with a neurobiology degree, I would have played lacrosse professionally if I could have....he is *certainly* making more than me, and I would presume more than a lot of the people in jobs who graduated from Cornell with the same degree that he had, especially since lax is becoming more popular. The men's games in Boston draw over 4000 each game.

Erica, I sure hope you make more than these guys. According to [www.freshangles.com]:

[Q]
The league owns all the players’ contracts, rather than the individual teams, in order to maintain control of players' salaries. According to George "Gabby" Roe, the league's executive director, players will be paid an average of $15,000 for a 14-game season, with no maximum or minimum figures set by the league. Roe says the top stars in MLL will make about double the average salary, and the lowest-paid players about half. [/Q]

Of course, the NLL (major league indoor lacrosse) pays around 10,000 with the top players making $15,000 for the season.

I guess one could make ends meet if one were a starter in both leagues, and did seasonal stuff on the side. The top players also have income from equipment endorsements and summer camps. The Gait brothers also have a couple of lacrosse equipment stores in Syracuse but of course they are the exception.