£10,400,000 per year. That's not bad, is it?

[PaulB]

You've only just noticed? (Placeholder for raised eyebrow yellow facey thing)*

Your observation goes straight to the heart of the inequalities in the world. People find it normal that some people earn more in a year than most earn in a lifetime, and far more than anyone can spend. A bit of judicious redistribution of a relatively small part of that £10.4m would be enough to lift dozens out of abject poverty..

No, have I testicles just noticed. I was directed to an article illustrating what the players of a particular club are earning this season and I know this is in the public domain anyway but only when I took the time and effort to look at what they were all individually earning did it dawn on me what this actually meant. Every week I (and not just me but thousands of others every game) get kids whose families can't afford the ridiculous entrance fees to see their local teams, almost beg for the rights to 'look after your car' so desperate are they for a bit of money. Mostly, they are in rags and clearly malnourished. Meanwhile, just yards away (I'm not comparing this with the Brazilian Favela or anything) there are players earning millions of pounds for playing for the club who represent that district (or used to anyway).

I'd love it if your concept of judicious redistribution could be made real!

 

[stephec]

Because only a tiny percentage get to the top and I bet they put as much time in, if not more, getting there.

As much as I'm not really a fan of Alan Brazil, I did once hear him say that when he was in his teens all his mates would be out on the town, but he would be home in bed early every night.

As Roy Castle said, 'dedication, that's what you need."

 

[subaqua]

Aaah so those of us who also gave up a wild time in our 20s to do a job to and be the best at it can just suck it yes ?

 

[PaulB]

Because only a tiny percentage get to the top and I bet they put as much time in, if not more, getting there.

Not necessarily. Some of them are just naturally talented. A lot will put lots of time in HOPING they'll reach this nirvana of unlimited cash that will set their entire family up for life but were never cut out for it in the first place.

And another thing that bothers me is, if you get a poor working-class kid who gets to sign a contract at a Premier League club that will set him up for life, how do you motivate him after that? What's he got to 'strive' for when he's already banked more money at, say, 17 than all his former classmates will ever do for the rest of their working lives?

 

[Smokin Joe]

I have the same mind boggling troubles. Why did I bother getting degree educated when others who kick a spherical bag of air around a big lawn in front of a crowd get in half a day what I earn in a year?

Never mind, when seventy thousand people turn up every week to see you do your job, millions more watch you on TV and people all over the world buy shirts with your name on the back you too will earn millions.

 

[Levo-Lon]

There on a par with most top actors...Prime Donna money ..

 

[screenman]

Not necessarily. Some of them are just naturally talented. A lot will put lots of time in HOPING they'll reach this nirvana of unlimited cash that will set their entire family up for life but were never cut out for it in the first place.

And another thing that bothers me is, if you get a poor working-class kid who gets to sign a contract at a Premier League club that will set him up for life, how do you motivate him after that? What's he got to 'strive' for when he's already banked more money at, say, 17 than all his former classmates will ever do for the rest of their working lives?

For many playing and winning are more important than money.

 

[Drago]

Sad reflection on society that this is the value of pro footballers.

 

[slowmotion]

The huge sums that celebrities of all kinds, footballers, film stars etc etc, come from the wallets and purses of ordinary people who are interested in their antics. It doesn't come from taxation on the whims of politicians. I don't have any problem with it. You get the Gods you deserve. If you don't like it, stop feeding the beast.

 

[ufkacbln]

Premiership footballs also have skill. I don't follow football at all. But I do know literally millions of kids play football and such a very small percentage make it to this level. It takes years and years of training and dedication and 99.999% won't make it. Fair play to those that do.

We had a guy at School who was a brilliant footballer and at 16 was spotted by a "talent scout" and signed up for Aston Villa.

A year later he was back

He discovered very quickly that whilst he was very good, he was nowhere near as good as some of the others and was not going to be a first team player. He also discovered that he no longer enjoyed football as much when it became full time.

He now has his own company and still plays football at weekends

 

[ufkacbln]

Nonsense. It is a very pure example of supply and demand. The market Determines the earnings of clubs from attendance, tv rights and merchandising. The bulk of the money is in the premiership and champions league in this country. To get there you need 11 of the top 1000 players in the world. That is classic supply and demand. You may not like it but it is.

What used to happen was that there was a single contract with h FA and ALL teams got a share from that.

Now we have the big leagues that cream off the top of the TV fees and keep it to themselves, leaving the small clubs to struggle

Mind you there has to be a major crash soon. Portsmouth did this a few years ago and it was hoped that others would learn from that lesson, but most clubs are still massively in debt and existing by paying to keep the wolf from the door

 

[mick1836]

I've just been looking at the salaries of Premier League footballers and was shocked to see just how much they are currently earning.

Slap bang in one of the most run-down areas of Great Britain, for instance, in a district of high unemployment and poor housing, a man comes once a fortnight or so and earns £200,000 per week making his salary £10,400,000 per year! That's like winning a roll-over lottery and having a guarantee to do so for the next five years (terms of his contract)!

Now he's the best paid player at the club I've been looking at (the manager earns more) but the lowest-paid player is on £286,000 per year so we shouldn't be having a whip-round for him just yet.

The contrast between the people of the area and the unimaginable wealth the players have is staggering. The cars they drive in most cases cost more than the average home in the immediate vicinity of the stadium.

I'm still trying to rationalise the facts I've just seen and it doesn't sit well with me at all. Of course I know all the arguments for and against but this is just boggling my mind!

He only earns that because those poor people in that poor area decide to pay ££££££'s of their hard earned DHSS money to go and watch him play.

 

[vickster]

He only earns that because those poor people in that poor area decide to pay ££££££'s of their hard earned DHSS money to go and watch him play.

You realise the DHSS hasn't existed as a single entity since 1988?

Footballers earn what they earn because people pay to see them (in person, on TV, on t'interweb), buy the merchandise and sponsors dig deep because the punters buy their stuff when they see footballers advertising it

 

[PaulB]

He only earns that because those poor people in that poor area decide to pay ££££££'s of their hard earned DHSS money to go and watch him play.

No, you're wrong. Most of the poor people in that area do not pay ANYTHING to go and watch him play. They can't afford to and you can see this by the thousands of vehicles in the vicinity on match day and how bereft of traffic the area is for the rest of the week. The locals interested in one of the teams will be like a Commodore; once, twice, three times a season and for the rest of the games, they'll be in a pub watching their antics or listening to it on a radio. And very little of his pay comes directly from the fan. Not since the 90s anyway. The bulk of his pay comes from the TV companies selling this universal product to all corners of the world. And there is no DHSS.

 

[nickyboy]

The Premier League is a great British export and we should applaud them for getting out from under the FA and marketing their product effectively. If the people who supply the football make a load of money in doing so then good luck to them. A hell of a lot of that money comes from outside the UK and then enters the UK economy. It gets taxed in the UK and it largely gets spent in the UK

Go to any Asian country and Premiership football is incredibly popular. They subscribe to watch it on TV and they buy the merchandise. That's where the money to pay the wages comes from. This demand didn't even exist 30 years ago so well done in creating a market out of nothing

The ones who get left behind are the traditional football fans who would go and see their team every week. It's now too expensive because the teams have found another type of supporter who will pay the higher prices. It's hard to criticise the football clubs for this. If you had a product you sold for £20 but then found you could sell it to someone else for £30 would you keep selling it to your original customer for £20?