Everybody is eager to label the Premier League or the FA as the bad guys behind the injustice of footballers’ wages. It is difficult to identify who is truly at fault for the vast monetary discrepancy between the Premier League and the rest of the English leagues.
Of course, television royalties and sponsorship account for a large chunk. Recently, there have been pushes for the Premier League to pass down more of this television money. The most prominent financial discussion was, of course, the proposed Salary Cap.
This proposal entailed clubs being capped at spending 70% of their turnover on wages. It’s funny how teams such as Manchester United were the primary opponents of the idea. The Premier League has categorically refused all the proposals. The best teams are busy competing at the top of the Premier League and Europe, but the situation is unlikely to change.
But that does not necessarily make these wealthy clubs the only bad guys at play. Yes, that amount would total hundreds of millions spread across the leagues. That could be a lifesaver for some clubs still struggling financially from the COVID lockdowns. However, this would require money to filter its way down the tables.
EFL Wages
Instead, as the Premier League executives argue, any money that goes through is generally spent on player wages (particularly in the Championship). Many of the Championship players are paid ludicrous amounts of money. For example, Patrick Bamford and Georginio Rutter are both on £70,000 per week at Leeds United.
Leeds has the majority of ridiculous player wages, mainly due to its stint in the Premier League, but the pattern remains. League One is an exciting kaleidoscope, with an average squad player of a few thousand, compared to Alfie May’s £18,000 per week at Birmingham.
Compare that to players in League Two, where no one gets close to £10,00 per week (unless they are being loaned from a Premier League club, who still pay most of their wages!) This shows how the filtering system of any extra money in the English Leagues does not get very far, with a minimal amount seeping down to Leagues One and Two.
Sky Sports +
Yet, it is not all doom and gloom. The all-new Sky Sports + feature for this season may help to ease the situation. Each weekend fixture round will see ten live EFL fixtures being broadcast.
This will also involve a whole host of midweek fixtures throughout the season. This development should help to bring in more money to those lower clubs in the EFL, who would otherwise rely solely on matchday tickets for spectators.
Whether the 5-year broadcasting deal will have this effect remains to be seen. Clubs will be praying this does not deter fans from coming to watch matches in person. Otherwise, Sky will be another bad actor taking money away from the bottom of the EFL.