There has never been more money in professional football. Leading Premier League players can earn in a week what some of their predecessors received across an entire career, before sponsorship agreements, performance bonuses and social media partnerships are considered.
The contrast is about more than inflation. Previous generations often earned good money compared with the average worker, but few accumulated the kind of lasting wealth now available to modern stars. Many needed jobs after retirement and sometimes struggled financially once their playing income disappeared.
Today’s most successful footballers can become multimillionaires before reaching their mid-20s. The biggest names operate as international businesses, employing agents, accountants, chefs, trainers and media specialists.
So how did football move from capped wages and second jobs to enormous contracts and global celebrity?
When Footballers Earned Ordinary Wages
Professionalism was officially permitted in English football in 1885, but early players were not wealthy by modern standards.
Football remained closely connected to industrial communities. Many players came from the same factories, mines and working-class neighbourhoods as the supporters watching them. Their sporting ability might provide a reasonable wage, but it did not necessarily transport them into a completely different social class.
A maximum wage was introduced near the beginning of the 20th century. Regardless of a player’s talent or the size of the crowd paying to watch him, there was a limit on what his club could officially offer.
The cap increased gradually, but it continued to restrict salaries for decades. By 1961, the maximum stood at £20 per week.
That amount needs to be viewed in its historical context. It was above the average industrial wage, while leading players could also receive bonuses and unofficial benefits. Footballers were not necessarily poor.
However, they were not earning anything resembling modern sporting fortunes. A star representing England and attracting enormous crowds could receive a salary that remained recognisable to the people in the stands.
Supporters…
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