This week’s big debate: Are footballers paid too much?

By Jack Bason

Footballers’ salaries have become one of the most controversial topics in sport, raising the question of whether their pay is fair or merely a symbol of society’s misplaced values. With top players like Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe all having contracts worth hundreds of millions, is it really fair? Compare that to a doctor: in the United Kingdom, the average doctor earns £70,000 per year; with teachers averaging little more than £30,000 to £40,000 per year. Is it fair that the entertainers earn vastly more than someone who saves lives, teaches children or protects communities? Footballers are so highly paid these days that if one dropped a £50 note, it wouldn’t even be worth the time to bend down and pick it up- though, to be fair, some of them would probably dive for it anyway! 

Argument For:

The extreme wages of footballers shows that our society rewards entertainment more than saving lives or educating future generations. Furthermore, doctors’ nurses and firefighters save lives every single day while teachers are continually shaping the next generation, yet many struggle financially. Footballers, by contrast, entertain for 90 minutes per week with an occasional mid-week fixture, and thus this highlights the misplaced values in humanity.

For example, a surgeon might work for 60 hours a week and earn less in a year than some footballers would in the meagre space of a couple of days. Footballers’ contribution to the society is global entertainment which doesn’t directly save lives or solve global issues.

In addition to that, many of the wealthiest clubs pay players astronomical sums but completely ignore grass roots football, which struggles for funding – there’s even been times when clubs have had financial issues from paying players too much, with some clubs going bankrupt trying to pay too high wages to their players, showing the lack of sustainability in the system. Furthermore, in some countries the weekly wage of a footballer could pay the salaries of an entire hospital staff! For example, Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly earned $200 million per year when participating in the Saudi Arabian league – that’s the combined annual budget of some small hospitals!

Imagine if it was the same for teaching… “and in today’s transfer news, the maths teacher has been sold to another school for 50 million plus two supply teachers!”

To summarise, footballer’s pay is massively out of proportion to their actual contribution towards society compared with doctors, teachers or emergency workers. With salaries being inflated by television rights, billionaire owners and sponsors rather than genuine necessity, wages are going through the roof, consequently distorting young people’s aspirations, pushing fame over useful careers. To be honest, if rolling around “INJURED!” can earn more than what a nurse makes in an entire year… something’s gone wrong.

Argument Against:

People say footballers are overpaid, but when you look at the money they generate, the pressure they face and the rarity of their talent it starts to come across you – they are not just athletes, but rather global superstars keeping a whole industry alive. With football being one of the most watched sports globally, top clubs earn billions through ticket sales, merchandise and over-the-top sponsorship deals. Players are the central attraction, so their wages reflect the money they bring in.

Footballers have a short career span, only peaking between the ages of 20 to 35, and so retire at a very young age, meaning that they need to be paid more than other careers, as a doctor could work for 60 years or so rather than fifteen.

Footballers train vigorously without a day off, spending multiple hours every day running, stretching, exercising and preparing for their next match by look at data of their next opposition. They also need to have an incredibly healthy diet, making sure that they have the right quantities, even considering what they should eat and when to eat it to avoid needing to go to the toilet during a game. A typical meal for a footballer before a match would consist of fish, potatoes, vegetable and rice and would try to avoid fast food before a game and on a day-to-day basis. It is brutal on the body as you may know training for hours a week comes at a cost with at the top-level injuries and knocks regularly occur. Footballers must be aware of their health and reserve time to warm up and cool down with both stretching and resting, or perhaps occasionally having an ice bath.

Footballers also have a lot of privacy pressure unlike nearly every other profession; every single move that they make, the whole world can see. Fame also comes at a cost; footballers can hardly venture outside of their houses without getting swarmed by a crowd of people demanding for a picture or autograph. Furthermore, without a day off (even on Christmas Day!), they would miss many family occasions and other important events. With top clubs having to travel miles by bus or plane every single week, they become very isolated from their friends, families and entire social life.

DID YOU KNOW? A very small fraction make it to professional level per age group. According to the FA, out of everyone who takes part in grass roots football, 1% of them get scouted into academies and then furthermore get a scholarship. From there, 10% percent of people who are awarded with a scholarship actually make it to the professional level.

SCENARIO: We look at the football news and they only really focus on the top transfer sales of top players around the world “150 millions has been agreed by Real Madrid on a 6-year contract”, whereas they hardly ever show what sort of money the player competing in the lower leagues like League Two make with an average Player in League Two making £200,000 per year, which is still a big sum of money, but comparing it to the top players, it is miles away.

Conclusion:

In conclusion, yes it may seem that footballers are paid too much compared to other professions like a doctor, who saves lives on a day to day basis, but fame comes at a cost as when you look at their short career span, long hours without a day off, diet and training vigorously and most importantly, spending long hours away from their families and social life. And when these factors are taken into consideration, it starts to become clear that most footballers are paid a fair amount of money, as it comes at a big cost and sacrifice.