What problems could arise for the game if salaries were capped?

Answer 1

it really depends on what kind of wage cap system is in place - whether its a cap on player or team wages. either way it wont deter any youngsters from pursuing footballing as a career path, it will still result in getting paid handsomely for doing a job that he/she loves. but i must say i believe it is a very bad idea - to put a limit on one's earning potential. that isnt the case for top performers in other industries, so it should be for footballers - they should be compensated according to their worth.
if implemented as a club cap on wages, it would serve to increase competition within the league that implements it (such as the EPL), but would place those clubs at a disadvantage in other competitions (ex: champs league). but at the same time, clubs would find creative ways around it (write contracts that would result in varying wage rates for each year based on what other players wage rates are). but then we'd see alot of players getting big signing bonuses, then transferring from club to club within a few years based.
all in all, a bad idea.

Answer 2

No unmanageable problems would arise whatsoever, although it would be best if it could be done by international worldwide agreement.

But if not the UK should go it alone and introduce the caps NOW. May be it could be done in the next Budget by the Chancellor imposing a 99% tax on any footballer earning above the avearge national wage in the uk?

May be the spoiled brats would try going on strike or something, which they did do once before many years ago, but if that meant no matches were played for a few weeks would we honestly miss them. We have plenty of other sports to watch on Saturdays if we want to like rugby.

If it meant most foreign stars would not come to play in the British leagues for teams like Arsenal, Chelsea and Man united any more HOORAY, that would be the best thing that has ever happened to British football for years and the Premier League would start becoming interesting again with all teams having an equal chance, not just those with a multi billionaire's pocket behind them?
and our domestic game would benefit if British clubs had mainly British players like they used to.

Then our national teams would start winning instead of all being humiliated and disgracing this country, and hopefully the childsih antics like players dropping their trousers to show their undepants when they score a goal would cease.

Answer 3

In my opinion players wages are far to high, with some players earning £120,000 a week or approx £3,000 per hour. They aren't in football for the sport these days, they are in it for the money. Football is supposed to be a passion, but the passion is the money.

Players wages should be capped world wide then it would give players from lower divisions a chance. Also teams should be limited to how many overseas players are allowed to play in any one team at any one time,. Where would all the top teams be if they didn't have foreign players or pay wages the same as the lower divisions, they would be nowhere.

This is why the England team are so rubbish because there isn't enough English players that are being given a chance to prove themselves at the higher level and never will. For me to earn what professional footballers earn in a week it would take me about 10 years and it is scandalous especially with some many people living well below the national average. They are just greedy and think they are so much better than anyone else when they are not.

Give them the minimum wage and lets how they manage on that. Plus the cost to go and watch a football match these days is far to expensive.

Answer 4

I don't see why they should be paid millions and millions of pounds for PLAYING (no, not WORKING), a sport as a career.

What are the basic requirements for playing in a premiership club?

Physically fit.
Learn the game well.

At the end of the day, that is hardly anything to be paid such stupendous wages over.

Let's have a look at another job that requires the same and a lot more.

Military Forces basic requirements.

Physically fit.
Take orders as if you were a slave.
Risk your life on the whim of a single person.
Spend hundreds of hours memorising drill formations, battlefield tactics and teach others the same etc.
Paid a horribly unfair salary of around £17,000 P/A.

Do I think a cap on footballers salaries would be good? Yes.

Do I think footballers are extremely spoiled? Yes.

If the players did all leave to join other clubs it would only serve to disgrace England and make a mockery of the sport itself and frankly I would rather they did leave if they give up playing for their country for more money.

Premiership football ticket prices are blown way too much out of proportion. It may sound stupid, but they should honour us for going to watch them.

Have you ever played a sport with an audience/crowd watching you and experience the feeling which come with that? It's great and not many people would put a price on that.

Say a single person budget for food shopping is about £75 a week.

A football ticket for a top club is about £50. So how is it they reckon watching one football match is more than half as important as keeping enough food in your body to stay alive?

Just a note, £200k P/A is just under what a Superintendent (UK Police) earns, which takes well over 15 years of hard work and commitment. Not 10 years of practising a game of football.

They sure as hell do a lot more than a football player.

Answer 5

This question has been asked many times by football fans, but it's good to see a world class player asking it.

In a perfect world maybe it could work, but in reality there'd be so many problems implementing it.

First thing to remember is that it needs to be all or none. FIFA would have to place caps on every league or players will just move, especially players moving between clubs in EU member states. Then you've got to tell the top players that they're getting a paycut, which wont go down too well with the players union, not to mention the other people effected by it like agents and wags.

But if you do manage to convince them, you've got other headaches to worry about. The exchange rate will be a factor, if all the major leagues were capped in euros it would be difficult to set it fairly in the UK due to flactuating exchange rate with the pound. Plus there's the tax rates in individual countries, clubs in countries with high tax rates will have trouble getting the best players.

It's a good idea, but it just wouldn't work. It really needed to be implemented earlier, before football became this coperate machine, making billions.

Answer 6

i am devastated that england has not qualified we were definately better under svens management (see how well man city are doing ) i do think the players get paid too much money but i think if their pay was cut it would cause more intensity in the team. I was appalled to see gerard playing brillantly for liverpool so soon after england losing out why couldnt they play that good for their country ? Mclaren had the pick of the bunch but in such an important game failed to put out the A squad and then to make matters worse england had no form and the game was significantly lacking the normal star quality that these players can deliver.How about if the players lost they dont get paid an incentive to work harder i dont know but we have to make some serious changes in order to regain some dignanty back lets hope the new manager can turn things around

Answer 7

Players wouldn't have their unfairly lavish lifestyles for kicking a bag of wind around a small field. But that's a problem for players, not the ordinary punter, who works a proper job every week and footballers salaries capped might mean more affordable season tickets. The chairmen of clubs would deserve their lavish lifestyles for capping player salaries in order to make going to matches easier for the punter. Though I would never advocate salary capping on a REAL job. So In the long run everyone would benefit. The gains would far out-weigh the problems because players would still be earning extortionate amounts of money.

Answer 8

Why does Tiger Woods attract the attention of NON-golfers?

Why is Yao Ming regarded as the Most Successful Sportsman in China?

Why is Davd Beckham (not Ronaldinho, Zidane and definitely not Samuel Eto) The World's Best Selling Brand?

The game would unlikely suffer drops in playing standards if salaries were to be capped. Players want to play the best possible in the FIFA World Cup - it's the dream of every footballer to win football's top prize, not so much the money.

If players salaries are capped, Club Owners, FIFA, the Media, the Football Business will continue to reap untold billions of euros in revenue while You, the Professional Footballer are limited to a certain sum. Hey you can't play 20 years you know. Darn silly to contemplate this thought.

Answer 9

Why cap salaries? Why not just make it a requirement that the player lives in the town he will represent for at least 5 years before he can join the club and has to relinquish his place if he moves out of the catchment area. This would open the game to the local talent and stop the over paid foreigners who have taken over the game.

Answer 10

I believe that it wouldn't make a difference at all. It would mean that less clubs having to go into receivership as they would have to spend less on wages, The clubs would be able to lower ticket prices so more fans could attend games and players would find another way to increase their personal wealth through investments and other stuff.
Perhaps it would be better to ask if the wages are justified.
I've heard talk in the past that wages for footballers are high because it's their trade and if they're injured so they can't play anymore they need some sort of retirement plan but what about rugby players? Out of both groups of sportsmen who is more likely to suffer a career ending injury?
I'm not pro rugby by the way but i'm not pro football either, i just think it's a debate worth discussing.

Answer 11

The problems could only arise for the ball-kickers!
Everybody else (and particularly the supporters) might be a lot better off.
Restricting the foreign players and capping the salaries would also help the England team selection.