Wages

Kevster

Hey,

Is anyone else incredibly jealous by how much the top footballers earn?; or do you feel that it's just 'wrong'? I mean, some footballers get more in a week than other people (who work much harder) get in a few years. How is that fair?

Only intelligent responses please, and no quick-witted remarks!

Kevin

ButcherOfNog

They entertain millions every week, who should get all that money, the directors, the owners, sky? Or the players? They deserve to get well paid.

el rabitos

alot of the top footballers live very disciplined lives, the requirements as far as diets and lifestyle deserve to be rewarded to an extent, probably not to the amount that they are though.

Kevster

... ...Why do they deserve it? Many of them even cheat when playing - cheat at their own profession. How on earth do they deserve such good money when they do that?

Okay, I know that not all of them cheat, but many do.

Kevster

el rabitos wrote: »

alot of the top footballers live very disciplined lives, the requirements as far as diets and lifestyle deserve to be rewarded to an extent, probably not to the amount that they are though.

I live a very disciplined lifestyle and I am very fit, yet I am a student and live off the money I earn during the Summer months. I'm 25, by the way.

... ...I'm just jealous...:(

Zaph

I wouldn't say I'm jealous, more incredulous at the sort of money ordinary players can make. And I have to say I was somewhat disappointed to read recently that Joey Barton is on €82k a week and that he might have to take a small pay cut when he comes out of jail. He's not exactly an example to kids and youger players, and yet is pulling in stupid money considering that, imo, he's only average at best.

Mr.Nice Guy

I definitely don't think they deserve the amounts they get. I read recently that if Frank Lampard gets what he is asking for from Chelsea, he'll earn in one week what a nurse would take five years to make.

I think anyone who tries to justify that scenario is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Kevster

Thanks for your honest remark... ...It seems quite extraordinaray that Barton is on that much. €82K equates to roughly £60K - It wasn't so long ago that everyone was getting hyped about Roy Keane earning £50K for Man. Utd. This is definately a case of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer.

The sadistic side of me cannot wait until the financial 'bubble' bursts for these clubs. I mean, whilst the top clubs around Europe are getting ever more richer, more and more lesser clubs are facing bankruptcy.

Kevster

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I definitely don't think they deserve the amounts they get. I read recently that if Frank Lampard gets what he is asking for from Chelsea, he'll earn in one week what a nurse would take five years to make.

I think anyone who tries to justify that scenario is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

I hope you mean prawn sandwiches!

Charlie

ButcherOfNog wrote: »

They entertain millions every week, who should get all that money, the directors, the owners, sky? Or the players? They deserve to get well paid.

No, the fans. How about not charging an arm and a leg to see a game.

I always hear this old hogwash when people say there is too much money floating around 'give it to the players, I would rather see them get then the owners'. The average fan is getting the royal piss taken out of him when ticket prices are constantly soaring, yet £100,000 pw is becoming the new standard wage for any footballer that is above average.

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I definitely don't think they deserve the amounts they get. I read recently that if Frank Lampard gets what he is asking for from Chelsea, he'll earn in one week what a nurse would take five years to make.

I think anyone who tries to justify that scenario is a few sandwiches short of a picnic.

Frank Lampard could train and be a nurse, a nurse couldnt just decide to do Lampards job.

Theres a huge amount of money floating around the game nowadays, why should the people at the front line not get the best rewards? Was the world really a better place when footballers had to turn to normal jobs when finsihed and end up as "where are they now" columns in mags? How many stories has there been of former players living on little or nothing and havign to sell medals and the like just to survive. Would you really want to see some of Ut's top players now like that in 10 or 20 years time?

Mr.Nice Guy

Stekelly wrote: »

Frank Lampard could train and be a nurse, a nurse couldnt just decide to do Lampards job.

Well he'd have to pass his exams and from looking at the guy I wouldn't call that a foregone conclusion by any means!

What's more meaningful at the end of the day? Helping the sick and the dying, or kicking a bit of leather around a field? I'm a huge football fan but having been in hospital a few times I've found it a horrible and scary experience and I think nurses do a terrific job. It's when you're in situations like that you realise what's important.

I think it's pretty scandalous to be hearing players be termed 'slaves' considering the lifestyles they lead.

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

What's more meaningful at the end of the day? Helping the sick and the dying, or kicking a bit of leather around a field? I'm a huge football fan but having been in hospital a few times I've found it a horrible and scary experience and I think nurses do a terrific job. It's when you're in situations like that you realise what's important.

Whats that got to do with anything. A person can choose to become a nurse, it's a career choice. Theres only a very small percentage of the population capable of playing football as a profession. You have to have the tlaent and will to begin with. The improtance of different jobs doesnt really come into it. By that reasoning the should be a sliding pay scale for people in the country starting with the head of state/political leader (he/she is running the whole country afterall) and runnign down along the line of how imortant your job is in the overall scheme of the country.

At the end of the day, as said, theres huge money in football and the people who generate that money should be the ones reaping the benifit. especially considering they have the shourtest career span.

astrofool

Should business men not allowed be on high salaries also?

I mean feck it, should everyone not just earn the same amount and be done with it?

Mr.Nice Guy

Stekelly wrote: »

Whats that got to do with anything. A person can choose to become a nurse, it's a career choice. Theres only a very small percentage of the population capable of playing football as a profession. You have to have the tlaent and will to begin with. The improtance of different jobs doesnt really come into it. By that reasoning the should be a sliding pay scale for people in the country starting with the head of state/political leader (he/she is running the whole country afterall) and runnign down along the line of how imortant your job is in the overall scheme of the country.

At the end of the day, as said, theres huge money in football and the people who generate that money should be the ones reaping the benifit. especially considering they have the shourtest career span.

I don't agree. A person can choose to become a nurse but they can also choose to become a footballer. Both require hard work and dedication. Beeing a pro footballer requires talent as you point out but let's put this talent in perspective - it's kicking a ball about a park. It's a SPORT.

Why should that be rewarded in such an emphatic way? At the end of the day it's gone down the showbiz route and I agree they deserve a bit of the cash cow but they're getting too much out of it in my opinion.

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I don't agree. A person can choose to become a nurse but they can also choose to become a footballer.

Thats not true at all. If someone could just decide to become a professional football why the hell would there be so many people out breaking their backs on building sites or getting blood and sick all over them in hospitals? You need a certain amount of talent and then be lucky enough to be spotted or picked. Thats hardly comparable to deciding to go to school and become a nurse.

Mr.Nice Guy

Stekelly wrote: »

Thats not true at all. If someone could just decide to become a professional football why the hell would there be so many people out breaking their backs on building sites or getting blood and sick all over them in hospitals? You need a certain amount of talent and then be lucky enough to be spotted or picked. Thats hardly comparable to deciding to go to school and become a nurse.

Of course you choose to become a professional footballer. The people in the football league weren't forced into it. They're not slaves contrary to Mr Blatter's claims. They made a decision on their future just like everybody else.

leninbenjamin

it's called scarcity lads. the entire concept behind economics and the market system.

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Of course you choose to become a professional footballer. The people in the football league weren't forced into it. They're not slaves contrary to Mr Blatter's claims. They made a decision on their future just like everybody else.

Thats not what I'm saying and you know it. You cant just decide to swap careers to be a footballer. You have to have the talent to begin with.

If it was that simple everyone would be a footballer. Why dont you head off and sign for Utd instead of doing what you do now?

Mr.Nice Guy

Stekelly wrote: »

Thats not what I'm saying and you know it. You cant just decide to swap careers to be a footballer. You have to have the talent to begin with.

If it was that simple everyone would be a footballer. Why dont you head off and sign for Utd instead of doing what you do now?

I actually don't understand your position. I can't head off and sign for United any more than I can go down to the Mater Hospital tomorrow morning and take on a shift there.

Talent is all relative. If you're in a car accident and wounded badly would you rather have a trained nurse there with you or Mr Lampard?

I think we both know the answer to that.

Guy:Incognito

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I actually don't understand your position. I can't head off and sign for United any more than I can go down to the Mater Hospital tomorrow morning and take on a shift there.
.

You could decide tomorow to go train as a nurse. The only thing stopping you goign down to the mater and workign a shift is the goign to college bit, but as said, anyone can decide to do that.

And again. Frank Lampard coudl do the same if he chose to be a nurse he could. Sister Margaret in the Rotunda doesnt have that option (to be a footballerI mean, just t make sure we're on the same page).

You never answered my question about pay scales. Should Brian Cowan not be the ricjest man in the country seeign as he runs the whole lot and then have a sliding scale of importance from him down.

Should electricians be on a few million a year too seeing as the nurses cant do their job without electricity.

At the end of the day football bascially a private business, they can pay their employees what they like.

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Talent is all relative. If you're in a car accident and wounded badly would you rather have a trained nurse there with you or Mr Lampard?

.

If your in the Champions league final would you want Lampard or a nurse. We can do this all day you know.

Mr.Nice Guy

Stekelly wrote: »

You could decide tomorow to go train as a nurse. The only thing stopping you goign down to the mater and workign a shift is the goign to college bit, but as said, anyone can decide to do that.

And again. Frank Lampard coudl do the same if he chose to be a nurse he could. Sister Margaret in the Rotunda doesnt have that option (to be a footballerI mean, just t make sure we're on the same page).

I could have decided to go train as a footballer when I was younger and so could Sister Margaret. I didn't as I valued my Saturday morning TV shows too much. That doesn't prove what Frank does is more meaningful than what a nurse does.

SteKelly wrote:

You never answered my question about pay scales. Should Brian Cowan not be the ricjest man in the country seeign as he runs the whole lot and then have a sliding scale of importance from him down.

Should electricians be on a few million a year too seeing as the nurses cant do their job without electricity.

At the end of the day football bascially a private business, they can pay their employees what they like.

Cowen, and the rest, are on a ridiculous amount of money and get a ridiculous amount of time off in my opinion. I don't think they work as hard as people in the nursing profession, do you? So should they or footballers get the kind of money they receive and nurses get paid far less? I would say no.

SteKelly wrote:

If your in the Champions league final would you want Lampard or a nurse. We can do this all day you know.

The odds of me being in the Champions League final for Chelsea are remote. People get hurt every day. You know that full well.

Ultimately, if your position is that footballers do a more meaningful job than nurses then we will not reach any concensus and our views will remain irreconcilable.

I will never accept that it is right that someone like Frank Lampard could be sick and still pocket £150,000 a week, whereas a nurse - who cares for the sick - would need to work five years to make that much. I find that a disgrace.

Kevster

Stekelly wrote: »

At the end of the day football bascially a private business, they can pay their employees what they like.

Good point, and I can't argue with it. You have to admit though, that people such as doctors, firemen, nurses, plumbers, electricians, etc do far more important jobs than footballers; and yet their pay is multiple times less.

You do have it bang on though. I mean, if we don't like what they earn, then we should just ignore football altogether. I have already lost a lot of interest in it over the past few years and, indeed, I don't go to any football games anymore.

I have better things to spend my hard-earned money on than watching overpayed babies kick an inflated pig's bladder around a field; and then moan when they get a slight kick in the leg. They are pathetic (yet they are conditioned to be that way).

Kevin

leninbenjamin

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I will never accept that it is right that someone like Frank Lampard could be sick and still pocket £150,000 a week, whereas a nurse - who cares for the sick - would need to work five years to make that much. I find that a disgrace.

yet here you are posting on a football forum...

gosplan

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

I will never accept that it is right that someone like Frank Lampard could be sick and still pocket £150,000 a week, whereas a nurse - who cares for the sick - would need to work five years to make that much. I find that a disgrace.

It doesn't make sense on a global scale but the Queen is one of the richest people in England and she just had to marry it. Prince Charles just had to be born.

What's stupid is that people fork over 50 stirling to see a match, another 50 for the sky subscription and another 50 for a jersey.

However, once this money is in there, it should go to the players rather than the clubs.

astrofool

Is it right that the hospital admin staff might make more than the nurse? Is it right that they earn less?

What about surgeons? The best surgeons in the world may make even more than Mr. Lampard, and have a considerably longer career, is it a disgrace that they earn that much more than a nurse?

Rocket scientists? CEO's of large companies?

Should Tiger Woods be taking a pay cut, should actors in films get paid as much as they do. It's as simple as supply and demand, Lampard isn't only in the minority that play football professionally, but he's in the top percentile of that minority. It's not his fault people value footballers above, for example, cricket players, or olympians.

Kevster

Tiger Woods isn't even on a wage - he gets prize money instead. Anyway, I hate the way you have all singled out Frank Lampard because this discussion was supposed to be a general one. I am actually fond of Lampard, and I think he has been lucky enough to have had things work out such that he can be in a position to earn so much money.

That doesn't help my jealousy, however... ...Nor does it help my bitterness that many footballers are not even good at their job.

Kevin

estebancambias

Life is very unfair.

The thing is its not that hard to be a footballer. If you actually try you might not be Kaka but you could make a living.


I don't know how anyone could argue they deserve all this money but the fact is they play at a time when the money is in the game. It won't be like this for ever, and maby not for too long(3 to 4 more cycles of players)

Some people get lucky in life, and these people got lucky. Same with movie actors...do they deserve the all their money? No, but their pay is dictated by demand.

I wouldn't be jealous though, I would be more jealous of the limelight they have.

anonymous_joe

Two simples words - supply and demand.

If anyone could play football professionally the wages would be dirt cheap. If you have sky sports, you're the one paying for their wages.

Take the Premiership, of all the hundreds of thousands of people who play football in England, 500 (arbitrary number based on 25 x 20) makes up the population of the Premiership. Of course they're payed staggering amounts of money. It would be stupid if they weren't.

Reganio 2

They earn too much money but in fairness a footballer's career is from the age of about 18 (When he starts making proper money enough to live on) till about 35 then he retires. Obviously their are exceptions but if you have to make enough money to last you till lets say you die at the age of 80, that is working 17 years to pay for the next 45 of your life. I can see why footballers get the most money but yeah I would like to see ticket prices go down I mean it is the fans that are paying for these people's wages.

I would love for one weekend (Prefferebly a Grandslam Sunday on Sky Sports) That nobody went to a football ground and nobody watched Sky Sports or any channel showing footie and just see how the Fa or whoever react would be very interesting.

Obviously would never happen though.

mormank

silliest argumen ti ever read on the internet just took place in this thread...congrats!!

pickarooney

Do footballers not get pensions like anyone else? Ans why can't they get other jobs when they're finished playing?

Guy:Incognito

estebancambias wrote: »

The thing is its not that hard to be a footballer. If you actually try you might not be Kaka but you could make a living.
.

It's harder than becoming a nurse. So therefore they deserve more. (if we are using the MR Nice guy scale )

PDN

Mr.Nice Guy wrote: »

Cowen, and the rest, are on a ridiculous amount of money and get a ridiculous amount of time off in my opinion. I don't think they work as hard as people in the nursing profession, do you? So should they or footballers get the kind of money they receive and nurses get paid far less? I would say no.

Cowen is in Ireland, so you should be comparing him with Eircom League players, who often get paid less than nurses (probably because most of them I see each week are worth less).

DenMan

What I find amazing is that despite the astronomical wages that soccer players are on (at the highest level), it still is peanuts compared to what NFL/NBA/NHL players are on in the US/Canada.

horseydevine

i believe some deserve it however there are the majority that dont. a example of a player that would deserve it was when fiorentina were goin bankrupt and angelo di livio took a pay cut of like 50% or more so the youngsters could get paid...

there should be wage caps like in america

_blank_

estebancambias wrote: »

I wouldn't be jealous though, I would be more jealous of the limelight they have.

Don't worry estie, you're already famous on Boards.ie. Not as famous as me mind, but famous all the same.

PDN

DenMan wrote: »

What I find amazing is that despite the astronomical wages that soccer players are on (at the highest level), it still is peanuts compared to what NFL/NBA/NHL players are on in the US/Canada.

NBA - yes.
NFL - Not really, the top paid soccer players earn more than the top earners in the NFL.
NHL - Definitely not. The top earners in the NHL earn less than 50% of what people like Thierry Henry are getting.

MBL is a different matter - Baseball salaries are second only to NBA.

The highest paid sportsman is - no surprise here - Tiger woods.

Charlie

PDN wrote: »

NBA - yes.
NFL - Not really, the top paid soccer players earn more than the top earners in the NFL.
NHL - Definitely not. The top earners in the NHL earn less than 50% of what people like Thierry Henry are getting.

MBL is a different matter - Baseball salaries are second only to NBA.

The highest paid sportsman is - no surprise here - Tiger woods.

Agreed. NFL wages are lower because most teams have a squad of up to 50 players. NBA is the reverse, as the numbers involved are much lower. Te same with MLB. Also, with baseball, alot of the big teams not only have their own tv deals, but own the station it is being broadcast on. This brings in a ton of money. The Yankees own Yes Network, and regularly play 4 to 5 games a week. That's a lot of ad revenue, as well as being shown once a week on a national broadcaster like Fox or ESPN.

Bottom line though, all of the 4 big pro sports in America operate on a draft and free agent system. This cuts out transfer fees, and hence saves a lot of money.

As well as that, it makes the league much more competitive and interesting (particulalry the NFL). I would love if UEFA could come up some sort of draft/spending cap. I think this, more that the 6+5 rule, would help young talent break through and be given a chance.

DenMan

Thanks for the info PDN/charlie, I stand corrected.

PDN

charlie mchugh wrote: »

Agreed. NFL wages are lower because most teams have a squad of up to 50 players.

Another reason is because in some parts of the US College football is more popular than NFL - something that never ceases to amaze me.

Charlie

PDN wrote: »

Another reason is because in some parts of the US College football is more popular than NFL - something that never ceases to amaze me.

Well when you consider the Franchise system that teams operate under, it is easier for some people to get behind the local college, who they may have attended, than a team that is only up and running a year or so, or a team that is likely to move towns. Oklahoma is a great example of this. Why would sooners start supporting a NFL franchise team that has just moved in, which has no real connection to the state, given the history of their collegiate football team.

Also, alot of the modern players e.g. your Pacman Jones and Terrell Owens have alienated the older generation. For them, there is something pure and attractive about the unprofessional, yet highly skilled, College game.

Sorry about the off topicness of the post mods.

Kevster

If you earned £120,000 per week, what would you do with it? At this moment in time, my answer is that I would donate about 20,000 of it to a different charity each week. However, I'm deeply worried that, if I actually earned that much, I would just turn into 'them' and be a greedy and spoiled brat (<- Generalisation).

Kevin

Guy:Incognito

Kevster wrote: »

If you earned £120,000 per week, what would you do with it? At this moment in time, my answer is that I would donate about 20,000 of it to a different charity each week. However, I'm deeply worried that, if I actually earned that much, I would just turn into 'them' and be a greedy and spoiled brat (<- Generalisation).

Kevin

Most footballers (the ones that earn enough to support a very good lifestyle and can give aswell) give a lot to charities and do a lot for them.

ronbyrne2005

People on an average wage in this country can own a nice house containing nice things and gadgets and go on nice holidays and eat as much food as they like etc. People working much harder in third world countries cant have these things. This is even more unfair than a top soccer player earning millions a year. Even people on social welfare in this country have a better standard of living than around 80% of worlds population. A player could break his leg at any stage and he would not get a fresh contract and could be jobless and not earning income within a couple years. If ticket prices were reduced to reduce salary and club income demand for tickets would rise as many times more could afford tickets and there would be more trouble organising who gets the limited tickets for matches and people claiming others are not "real" or "true" fans. A football team are more like entertainers than sports men today, more like a top music act than amateur players. No body forces anyone to contribute income to clubs/sky sports/players , it's a choice that the capitalist system allows. A good footballer can bring joy/entertainment to millions, what price is put on that?
Ridiculously ignorant arguments on here from some.

Kevster

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

Ridiculously ignorant arguments on here from some.

True, and we've just had another one here from you. An example of your ignorance is when you talk about injuries: Sure, a player's contract could be terminated, but he could just as easily take up a coaching role thereafter. You should also realise that a serious injury to a 'regular joe' could also result in them having to leave their job.

You are right that they are entertainers though and, in some regards, the world of football is a microcosm of Ireland (bear with me!). Over the past few years, the Irish economy has 'boomed', as has the amount of money being pumped into the world of football. However, just as our economy is now in recession, so will the amount of money being pumped into football eventually dwindle.

Nothing lasts forever.

Kevin.

Guy:Incognito

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

People on an average wage in this country can own a nice house containing nice things and gadgets and go on nice holidays and eat as much food as they like etc. People working much harder in third world countries cant have these things. This is even more unfair than a top soccer player earning millions a year. Even people on social welfare in this country have a better standard of living than around 80% of worlds population. A player could break his leg at any stage and he would not get a fresh contract and could be jobless and not earning income within a couple years. If ticket prices were reduced to reduce salary and club income demand for tickets would rise as many times more could afford tickets and there would be more trouble organising who gets the limited tickets for matches and people claiming others are not "real" or "true" fans. A football team are more like entertainers than sports men today, more like a top music act than amateur players. No body forces anyone to contribute income to clubs/sky sports/players , it's a choice that the capitalist system allows. A good footballer can bring joy/entertainment to millions, what price is put on that?
Ridiculously ignorant arguments on here from some.

Why dont you move to one of the worlds many successfull communist societies.........


Should no one in the world earn more than the poorest Africans or is it only footballers that should be stripped of their wealth?

PDN

ronbyrne2005 wrote: »

A player could break his leg at any stage and he would not get a fresh contract and could be jobless and not earning income within a couple years.

Nonsense. For a tiny fraction of their wages any Premiership footballer can purchase insurance that ensures that they are very comfortably off for the rest of their lives if they are prematurely injured. If they don't have such insurance then their stupidity exceeds even their greed.

kwestfan08

With the amount of money swimming around in football these days, I think, for the most part, that the wages earned by players is justified. Players like Ronaldo, Rooney and Lampard earn the sums of money that they do because they are the best in the WORLD at what they do, hence they are paid accordingly.

Kevster

kwestfan08 wrote: »

With the amount of money swimming around in football these days, I think, for the most part, that the wages earned by players is justified. Players like Ronaldo, Rooney and Lampard earn the sums of money that they do because they are the best in the WORLD at what they do, hence they are paid accordingly.

Wait a second - By your logic, the street-cleaner who is best at his/her job should also earn thousands each week. The same goes for the lady / guy that comes around cleaning offices the best at the end of every working day. In an ideal world - sure - that would be the case, but this world in which we live is not ideal and, as much as democracy tries to correct that fact, it never will.

Kevin

Guy:Incognito

Kevster wrote: »

Wait a second - By your logic, the street-cleaner who is best at his/her job should also earn thousands each week. The same goes for the lady / guy that comes around cleaning offices the best at the end of every working day. In an ideal world - sure - that would be the case, but this world in which we live is not ideal and, as much as democracy tries to correct that fact, it never will.

Kevin

If street cleaning generated hundreds of millions in entrance fees/merchandise/tv deals and sponsorship then yes, yes they should. But otherwise no. And agian, its a job that anyone can do. They dont have to scour the world for the best streetcleaning talent and pay huge sums to get them.