Erikson and his partners (O'Dowd & Penfield) were businessmen first, hockey owners second. No idea where they got their money but they've got enough to toss around at a fun venture like the NAHL. That's also not Erikson in the picture, he is much older and bald.
Most estimates I have heard range in the 60-80K a year for NAHL head coaches depending on the program. I do recall hearing that Kenai was offering in the 30s ~5 or so years ago and that was why they kept swapping out losing coaches; simply no budget.