A National Football League equipment manager handles mundane tasks such as washing uniforms and equipping lockers with shoulder and knee pads. Some may handle administrative tasks such as managing million dollar budgets for equipment purchases, while others may be in charge of getting personal items such as sports drinks for players. Salaries for NFL equipment managers are far below the players they work with, but most will have their jobs for a longer time.
The Basics
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NFL equipment managers may earn an annual salary of $50,000 or more according to Jobmonkey.com. It is not uncommon for equipment managers for professional sports teams to earn less. The annual salary for athletic equipment managers for spectator sports is $23,390 according to a 2010 report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Equipment managers typically have a bachelor's degree in sports or business administration.
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Work Options
In a June 2009 interview for Football4America.com, Drew Hampton, equipment manager of the Jacksonville Jaguars, said he put in 16 to 17 hour work days during a game week. He said he had $1 million budget to manage. In some cases, NFL equipment managers may earn extra income by managing equipment for teams in other sports. In a February 2011 article for "The National Post," Green Bay Packers equipment manager Gordon Batty said he worked for the Canadian Hockey Team at the 2006 Olympics at Turin.
Salary Cuts
Some equipment managers saw their salaries cut during the 2011 lockout. Since teams did not have players in the facilities for off-season training, some clubs cut or suspended jobs related to player care. The lockout was an unusual circumstance and was not expected to affect long-term pay.
Assistant Equipment Managers
NFL teams also hire assistant equipment managers to work in conjunction with equipment managers. Most individuals start off as assistant equipment manager before finding a job as a team's full-time equipment manager. Ed Carroll, the Baltimore Ravens equipment manager as of 2011, was the Cleveland Browns' assistant equipment manager before becoming the team's equipment manager from 1990 to 1995. No definitive information existed as of 2011 for how much any team paid its assistant equipment managers.