Corey Vereen Leaving XFL Over Salary Concerns
One of the key goals of the XFL leading up to 2020 was to sign high-profile players. 24-year-old Corey Vereen was one of them. Picked in the eighth round of the XFL Draft, Vereen was supposed to be a huge star for the Los Angeles Wildcats.
That doesn't appear to be the case anymore. Vereen has decided to forgo the opportunity to play in the XFL due to the salary being lower than what he claimed was discussed.
It was recently reported by The Action Network's Darren Rovell that a standard XFL contract is $1,040, while NFL players make $495,000. ProFootballTalk had the average salary as $55,000, with some contracts depending on skill. Players can become full-time employees of the XFL on December 4, 2019. If they are able to stay on the roster, those players will be employed until May 31, 2020.
The defensive end is the first player to go public with this issue. Via Logan Brown Sports, a statement was made talking about how talks between players and the XFL were different compared to the recent salary structure.
"The salary schedule did not come close to matching what was talked about rampantly throughout the XFL combine workouts and was discussed online by many different sources." Logan Brown Sports stated. "?We wish the upstart league the best and would be open to the idea of playing when salaries reach an appropriate minimum."
Vereen will now continue to develop his skills while also working in the career field he worked towards while with the University of Tennessee, Computer Science. It is unknown if others will step forward against the XFL as well.
The launched XFL season is expected to start in February of 2020, the weekend after the Super Bowl. The Wildcats face the Houston Roughnecks in Houston on the 8th at 5 p.m. ET on FOX.
After careful consideration, @meanvereen has decided to forgo his @xfl2020 opportunity. Corey has stayed in great shape for his next football opportunity. Unfortunately that opportunity will not be in the XFL with the current pay scale. We wish the @XFLWildcats the best of luck! pic.twitter.com/CVF1Ugcv0x
? Logan Brown Sports (@LBSAgent) October 23, 2019