Why are football players paid so much?

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Why are football players paid so much?

Brief overview

This articles topic is on why football players get paid a ridiculously amount of money for playing 90 minute games each week. In this wide reading log I will give my perspectives as a football fan of what I think it means for us and for people outside of football and how this can somewhat affect the society that others less fortunate than us live in.

Why do these athletes get paid so much?

These athletes get paid so much because they are very high demand by clubs, (The demand for talented football players is high as they increase the team’s chances of winning titles). Over the years, football has climbed in its popularity to be one of the biggest sports in the world, and the increased enjoyment and number in fans throughout the years has really made sure that clubs are getting the best players they want to win titles and make their fans happy. But these clubs have to make sure that players are getting paid enough to stay in the club because there are constant battles between clubs, attempting to get the best players they can. (In 2014-15, the average League 1 player was paid just below £70,000 compared with an average wage of £1.7m for a Premier League player). Looking at this quote from the text this tells us that players who are in the higher leagues of football are paid so much more compared to the lower league players. This also supports the fact that the concept of high demand is true. How does this exactly relate to me? I am a football fan myself and I always want the best for the team. I always want my team to buy the best players from big clubs with big payouts and wages to make sure they stay in the club and help us win trophies. As a football fan I think that paying the world class players huge amounts per week is fine but paying benchwarmers the salary of 2 families a year per week is just ridiculous. I am sure it is just not me that thinks this way. Millions of fans around the world also have this mindset of wanting their teams to buy the best players as it boosts the chances of winning leagues. 

How do the clubs afford this? / How do they get the money?

Football clubs are a business and a sports team all in one. A sports team in a professional league is enough to make you millions to billions of dollars, but combine it with being a multimillion business, there is no doubt that you will be making lots and lots of money (The demand for talented football players is high as they increase the team’s chances of winning titles. Successful teams make more money from broadcasting rights, merchandise and ticket sales). Football is one of the most popular and biggest sports in the history of sport and it is one of the most popular things throughout the world. You can ask anyone to name one sport and they will most likely say football / soccer. Since it is one of the most played sports in the world, it makes sense that there will be billions of fans around the world that will pay money to either watch the games, purchase their merchandise and clubs will be able to claim broadcasting rights etc, again (Successful teams make more money from broadcasting rights, merchandise and ticket sales). Just from these things, clubs can swoop billions of dollars from these which is why they have the money to buy and pay these players. I can relate to this because I am a football fan myself. I also pay to watch the games and buy my favourite teams merchandise to express my support for the team. But these clubs do make a lot of money. I think that it should be shared around to other people as well. The greed for money between clubs has increased throughout the years and I think that it is not good for the reputation of the game that this is happening. From a person outside of football, if they heard that clubs were just being greedy that they would think that the game is all about money and not the sport itself. I think that with the money these clubs are making, some portions of the wealth should be shared around to the unfortunate places as it can help them a lot.

What does this mean for others?

Although it is good for the clubs and the culture of football that they make this much money, it is also unfair. These clubs have so much money, like literally more than what you think, but this money can also be going to poverty or donation towards world hunger. This topic is not covered well by the media, but there are still also some rich players who have golden hearts. Let’s take Cristiano Ronaldo for example, he is one of the best players, first billionaire athlete and is considered one of the most good looking athletes, but this doesn’t change the way he thinks about others or that he is ignorant. Cristiano donates lots of money to charities, over 1 million euros worth. And it’s not just Cristiano Ronaldo that donates lots of money, there are still lots of football athletes that donate too charity, but you don’t really see big rich clubs donating money to charity, considering that they have the most money out of everyone. There are clubs who hold up to billions of dollars and still choose not to help out these people in need. I believe that this should happen more often between players as it is a good gesture that makes the game name ‘the beautiful game’ more acknowledged. Not only is it helping lots of people but it shows good role models that these players portray and inspires millions around the world. If big clubs start donating more money to charities and other unfortunate places, the reputation for these clubs will be looked at in a much more positive way and this can also help them gain fans.