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Footballers’ Wages

shakey said:
I do not have a problem with talented people earning a lot of money. But when does it become an obscene amount ?

And whether you agree with the current PM's policies or not , I would argue that the person running the country, with all the pressures and difficult decisions it brings , should probably earn more than a third rate striker in league one that barely does even part time hours and probably can't hit a barn door from more than 5 yards !

And @rob666 made a good point. Footballers have always had a good wage, but in the past it was less of a gap between them and the average person. Hence the testimonials.

In 1968, George Best arguably became one of the first superstar celebrity footballers. He was one of the best in the world at that time.

His reputed wage was £1000 a week , while the average wage was £30 a week. I am pretty sure there were plenty of people back then who were saying his wage was obscene at 33 times more than the average.

Compare that to today's superstar of the English football league Eric Harland. He earns £375,000 a week and the average wage is around £700 a week. So he earns over 500 times the average wage.

So yes it is obscene without a doubt. Sportsman in general are vastly over paid these days. It's not just football.

Subscription TV has been the catalyst for this , and now there is the added billions from questionable oil rich countries.

It's a great time to be a professional sportsman , I think we can all agree on that.











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I'm not disagreeing with any of that.

Football is a multi billion pound industry. Like it or not, those wages will only rise.

delta79 said:
I have see this first hand. Although the academy went to 18yr old.
We had an academy that used our on site accommodation. After every 'pack your bags, your are going home' we knew 2 hours later we would be in the accommodation fixing the damage caused by the failed football wannabe.
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I've heard of teenage footballs, who haven't even made a first team appearance, buying £150,000 mercs.
 
It’s obscene money but I don’t blame the footballers. At the end of the day they’ve asked for the cash the clubs have given. It’s Sky and the various other to services, coupled with ridiculous sponsorship funding that have caused this.

At the end of the day if I knew I could double or treble my wages at work to renew my contract I’d do it hands down.
 
But this isn't doubling or trebling though, this is earning triple the average annual salary, per week.
I have an old friend who, after years, managed to get a Newcastle season ticket, despite having no car and living over a hundred miles away.
The fan network got him to the matches...with a fuel contribution.
After a few years, he had to give it up because the price had doubled, so he couldn't afford the ticket and travel.
Players get silly high wages, ticket prices increase well above inflation, which forces the real fans out of the new posh grounds, the pies move out, the prawn sandwiches move in, the advertising forces out further seats.
 
rob666 said:
But this isn't doubling or trebling though, this is earning triple the average annual salary, per week.
I have an old friend who, after years, managed to get a Newcastle season ticket, despite having no car and living over a hundred miles away.
The fan network got him to the matches...with a fuel contribution.
After a few years, he had to give it up because the price had doubled, so he couldn't afford the ticket and travel.
Players get silly high wages, ticket prices increase well above inflation, which forces the real fans out of the new posh grounds, the pies move out, the prawn sandwiches move in, the advertising forces out further seats.
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True. It all started going wrong when the sport became second to the business. I blame Man Utd for that - and ultimately they are now paying the price of the initial success they had becoming a business.
 
The reason these footballers are paid so much is because we deem it acceptable and help to fund them. If collectively we boycotted TV subscriptions, merch, sponsors etc. The money would not be around to pay them. This isn't going to happen though.
 
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Private companies can pay whatever wages they want to whomever they want.

Yes it's obscene, I don't think any regular football fan would disagree with that whatsoever, but are the clubs ever going to have restrictions put onto themselves to control it? They'll just go a make their little "Super League" and get the money off the foreign fans instead.

The FFP and the "Fit & Proper Persons Test" show the contempt that the organisers have for the actual state of things so long as they get their money. Hence the almost need for an independent regulator to get things under control.

Blaming football though for the underpaid nurses and others is a perfect example of political distraction. As these clubs have zero to do with those wages, and as a result of these wages in theory pay a higher level of tax (of course I'm uncertain if there's a great deal of tax nonsense with footballers, at least in comparison to many other high earners in the country).
 
It's
Benzin said:
Private companies can pay whatever wages they want to whomever they want.

Yes it's obscene, I don't think any regular football fan would disagree with that whatsoever, but are the clubs ever going to have restrictions put onto themselves to control it? They'll just go a make their little "Super League" and get the money off the foreign fans instead.

The FFP and the "Fit & Proper Persons Test" show the contempt that the organisers have for the actual state of things so long as they get their money. Hence the almost need for an independent regulator to get things under control.

Blaming football though for the underpaid nurses and others is a perfect example of political distraction. As these clubs have zero to do with those wages, and as a result of these wages in theory pay a higher level of tax (of course I'm uncertain if there's a great deal of tax nonsense with footballers, at least in comparison to many other high earners in the country).
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Look at the start of COVID. Players donating wages to the NHS and the rage that followed from MP's "footballers should stay out of politics!!"

Take the knee. "Wah, wah ,wah but soldiers and captain tom!"

They can't win.

They do loads for charity. Stuff that's goes under the radar. Mane building schools in Africa as an example. But, they are spoilt millionaires in flashy cars.
 
Seeing as they're employees of clubs they'd be paid via PAYE for their actual wages so wouldn't be able to avoid taxes on that. Thus making them some of the highest tax payers in the country.

I'd imagine for anything else the like personal sponsorships etc they've probably got themselves set up as limited companies to pay a lower rate of tax. Which is completely legal.
 
shakey said:
And all for a part time job of a few hours per week.
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I always find it funny when people talk about footballers getting paid a large amount for “a part time job”, as if all they do is just turn up for 90 minutes of kicking a ball around once or twice a week.

But of course we perhaps wouldn’t describe a professional touring musician in a band doing a couple of shows a week as having a part time job, we’d understand that there’s a lot more to it than that and I think that with footballers there’s also that aspect of them being paid handsomely to put bums on seats as well as winning points.

It’s an interesting question though of how much ‘work’ a professional footballer does. A footballer is essentially paid not just to play a match and also put the hours in on the training pitch, but to rest and recover as well which is of vital importance. It’s a very structured life and one that probably doesn’t leave that much time for personal leisure pursuits during the season.
 
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Steven Gerrard once spoke about his life whilst he was at Liverpool and it didn't sound like fun. Couldn't really to go into the city he grew up and lived in, as he would get constantly harassed even if he was with his family. as his court case would prove. Couldn't really go on a night out anywhere without someone being a twat and bugging him. Even nipping to the petrol station would be an event.

But they will do tonnes of corporate stuff aswell. Keep all the sponsors happy and media happy aswell. Their lives are so regimented it's unreal. 24/7 they will be asked to this and that. Send signed stuff and during a season. No breaks. Constantly on the move.

Alot of days and nights away from the family and in some cases, their families not even living in the same country as them. Stuck in hotels like Alan Partridge. Then their is the toll that is put on the bodies. You see ex players walking about alot look to be in pain. Even players now, with super dooper treatments still look in pain constantly


And the awful argument in my eyes of the players in league 2 being paid better than the PM. Being PM should never be about financial gain. Remember, we pay their wages to keep us safe and secure. Imagine a PM on £200k? MPs get far too many benefits from our pockets as it is along with freebies left and right and centre from supporters and backers. The current PM (speaking of folk with obscene wages.) is wealthy enough. Remember, he can make himself better off by changing policies. Alot of money pushed towards MP's and parties from millionaires to make sure they don't get taxed. Yet, they always tell us we as the public need to go without vital services and keep the NHS staff on wages far below inflation.

In no way am I ever defending the wages. Football in this country has been driven far to much by greed. (I am a Liverpool fan who protested the super league, during lockdown down at elland road) I'm hoping this independent authority will be brought in with some power and we can start curtailing this greed and get more money sent further down the pyramid.
 
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John_P said:
Seeing as they're employees of clubs they'd be paid via PAYE for their actual wages so wouldn't be able to avoid taxes on that. Thus making them some of the highest tax payers in the country.

I'd imagine for anything else the like personal sponsorships etc they've probably got themselves set up as limited companies to pay a lower rate of tax. Which is completely legal.
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I guess the way round it is to be paid a basic minimum and paid more in royalties, etc which they can do through a company?
 
Boot money wasn't just paid to amateurs...
There are masses of examples of bent accounting in football.
The accountants are just getting better at hiding it.
 
rob666 said:
Boot money wasn't just paid to amateurs...
There are masses of examples of bent accounting in football.
The accountants are just getting better at hiding it.
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Same in any sport. Got salary caps in rugby league. Amazing how many players wives earn £30k a year for part time cleaning.
 
If you think the UK based sportsmen earn a lot minds would be blown looking at some of the American salaries.

Jb85 said:
I guess the way round it is to be paid a basic minimum and paid more in royalties, etc which they can do through a company?
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Depends if the various bonuses they get (wins/appearances/clean sheets/etc.) are taxed as well.
 
I don’t really care how much they get paid, but like anyone earning stupid amounts of money the money should be taxed more.

It’s frustrating when you hear of people with lots of money paying an effective tax rate lower than most average salaried people (looking at you Rishi Sunak with your 23% effective tax rate).
 
Lets go back to good old '74.
Top tax rates of 85% for the top earners wasn't it?
Back when we had a decent mixed economy.
I would settle for that quite happily.
 
It’d be nice if some of this obscene money filtered down to those of us who help broadcast sport to the masses. Or the poor buggers who clean up after the “fans”.
 
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