Why do footballers get big wages?

1. 74

   blaiddgochposted 11 years ago

   Why do footballers get big wages?
   
   Wages that an average hard working person would dream of...
   and do you think they deserve such amount?

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2. 48

   DDEposted 11 years ago

   They don't deserve the amount they get, but mainly the players in big leagues get the big pays because the stakes and competition are bigger for the major clubs that compete in  prestige competitions.  In this way they try to get the best out of their players which doesn't always work

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3. 96

   Thomas Swanposted 11 years ago

   Wages rise to match the income of the club. If people stopped watching football, the TV money would dry up, clubs would get paid less, players wages would drop. Currently though, the clubs can afford to pay the highest wages to get the best players, which gets them even more money from the trophies they win. So they might as well do it. They don't deserve the money, but that's capitalism for you.

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4. 60

   mmsuposted 11 years ago

   The wages which the top players are getting nowadays are way too much!Even four to five years back the players got decent wages,but the likes of Man City,Chelsea and Madrid have taken the wages being paid to football players at another level!!They do deserve a decent enough wage for their "world class talent" which not many have,but not so high.

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5. 75

   JBastowposted 11 years ago

   Because they are entertainers, people never ask why actors and singers get paid so much.

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6. 60

   jdmanistaposted 11 years ago

   I believe that Thomas definitely has the right idea. If you look at all of the major sports the viewership positively correlates with the wages of the players. In looking at a sport like hockey, which is currently having issues recovering viewership following the lockout of 04-05, you only see large contracts for the most elite players in the league. Baseball is a bit of the same as it is the national past time in America but stadiums only hold about 40,000 in most cases and I don't think that it is realizing the same type of national appeal as football (American football). A stadium like Dallas can pack 100,000 Cowboy fans in the seats for every home game, but then again they only have a 16-game season. Bottom line it comes down to the revenues that the team has and major clubs like Man U that are followed around the world see huge viewership and huge revenues and are thus able to pay out very large contracts to entice the best players from all over the world.
   
   As to your comment I do not think that these athletes, footballers or otherwise, deserve these types of salaries but the "average hard working person" is paying good money to see them play and that money has to flow through the team down to the players through ever-growing contracts.

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7. 98

   chef-de-jourposted 11 years ago

   Top footballers get huge wages because they're top entertainers in an industry that has hundreds of millions of followers world wide. Do they deserve millions every year? Probably not, but they give a lot back to society?
   Remember not all footballers get the big bucks, only those at the elite clubs, but I understand your question - salaries have spiralled in the last ten years and are seen by some as being out of control. Why are wages so big?
   
   1.  Corporate thinking - the bigger clubs are now true 'brand names' and top players have become like the Hollywood greats.
   2.  Sponsorships - all kinds of companies cashing in on the elite players and their images.
   3.  Global t.v. contracts have moved the game up into the stratosphere.
   
   It's a dog eat dog world in football. Commercial pressures are so outrageous these days that all kinds of business people are getting involved, promising this that and the other to desperate fans. In England the premiership is more or less in good health but there are signs that change is needed. Clubs like Portsmouth a few years ago were winning trophies but having to pay their top players astronomical wages, riding the big wave of success! Now they're nearly broke and on the brink - still owing huge wages to players long gone! The authorities have been largely helpless as the free market dictates all.
   
   But a shake up is on its way. EUFA is trying to balance things out with new regulations too complex for this box.
   
   Has football sold its soul? Yes, years ago, and the devil is laughing, spouting out cash from every orifice. But we still love the thrill of watching that ball fly into the net, no matter which overpaid mercenary superstar scores!

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8. 60

   worldsoccerposted 9 years ago

   I think they deserve it. They are giving us lot of entertainment, think about your football team, how much enjoyment it gives you when they win a match! and don't think it's an easy job, they have to work hard really hard in every training session to make themselves better.

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9. 58

   ryan-cdposted 7 years ago

   I just find it all very funny to be honest,Cristiano Ronaldo earns an estimated    £365,000 a Week, where as the average fireman earns  £29,345 a year, so in one week of Cristiano Ronaldo life he essentially earns a fireman's salary for 12 years and all he has to do is kick a ball around, he doesn't have to risk his life running into fires.
   
   However Andrew Spacey is correct in the reasons, big money in sponsorship's etc, so they have got themselves in a position where they have to pay big money in a capitalist society.

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