Whenever a brand new soccer deal is announced for a top-tier player, many people around the world are shocked by the amount of money that they are bringing in. The teams are paying more and more money for top players, and the salaries are simply amazing.
Even players considered average in the top leagues are bringing in millions, and the average fan might not know where all this money is coming from. Is the money getting too out of hand? This is a closer look at how (and why) soccer players earn what they do.
How Much Do Pro Soccer Players Make?
Salary for the best of the best gets up there pretty high, but what about the average professional soccer player? They are a little bit more interchangeable, so they don’t fetch nearly the same amount of money on the open market. They still get paid very well, but if they are just another piece, the price stays reasonable.
| League | Average Player Salary |
|---|---|
| Premier League | £3,090,200 |
| La Liga | £2,040,370 |
| Ligue 1 | €1,176,910 |
| Serie A | €1,800,930 |
| Bundesliga | €1,624,488 |
| MLS | $312,470 |
The average salary for an EPL player these days is roughly €3 million. Top teams in European leagues are roughly the same, but dropping down a tier or two is huge. For example, in the MLS, average salaries are around $300K.
There are even very low levels of professional soccer that barely make any money whatsoever. They are still professional soccer players, but they supplement their income by having a day job, providing coaching, and more. They do it for the love of the game more than anything.
Of course, salary only tells part of the story. More details are below on other streams of income readily available for players good enough to market themselves correctly. You can also read more about how much soccer players make in this post.
Why Do Soccer Players Get Paid So Much?
Like a lot of top entertainment jobs, it’s all about supply and demand. Teams know that they can pay certain players a ton of money and still get a return on investment. Getting the best players means competing for lucrative titles, selling merchandise, selling tickets, and so much more.
Recent club team moves from top players instantly inject new life into the fanbase. A motivated fanbase can easily spend millions in a matter of days, and that revenue stream continues to provide as time goes on.
Salary is a great starting point, but this is a look at where all of a soccer player’s money comes from.
Salary
Obviously, salary from a contract with the club team can pay huge dividends for all types of players. Part of being professional means that a player is making money, but the amount of money can vary quite a bit worldwide.
The best of the best can make tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars from clubs during their career. On the other side, playing professional soccer in the lower leagues can barely make ends meet.
Contracts tend to be shorter for those not making much money because they allow flexibility from both sides. Teams can easily cut ties with a player not performing, while those outperforming their contracts can look for a new job.
Here’s the player salaries in the top leagues:
Bonuses
Going along with salaries from club teams are performance bonuses. Most players and their agents will work these into contracts to help push towards ultimate individual and team results. Teams do not mind paying this extra bit of money since it usually means that it translates into more success.
Bonuses range from team goals like championships to the amount of goals scored. It’s a way for players to bet on themselves if they want to, which can be the right move to make without question. In some rare occasions, players can double their salary when bonus thresholds are met.
National Team Money
It’s an honor for many players to suit up for their national team at some point in their career. Many don’t realize that along with the notoriety and the overall prestige, players make money suiting up as well. There’s no set amount that countries pay to their players, but it’s a decent amount of money for even the top players in the world.
Bonuses can make a difference with the national team as well. Any team that can win a World Cup, or even some of the smaller competitions, can expect a pretty nice bonus.
There will always be players who don’t want to play in international tournaments in fear of getting hurt, but it is never a bad idea to play for marketing purposes. The opportunity to become national heroes can pay dividends years after the fact.
Endorsement & Advertising Deals
There are a wide array of endorsements and advertising deal opportunities for professional soccer players. This can really contribute to a player’s overall wealth connected to their play on the pitch.
In fact, there are some scenarios where players are actually making more money through endorsement deals compared to their current season salary.
Major companies are always on the lookout for the best of the best. Players like Ronaldo and Messi have major sponsorship deals, which include apparel and footwear deals. Ronaldo currently reps Nike, while Messi is with Adidas.
Endorsement deals are great for people who can land them, but they are not always as lucrative as top players make them out to be.
Some might have endorsement deals where they only get free cleats to represent a particular company. That’s better than nothing, but it is a far cry from what people perceive to be the case.
Appearance Fees
Appearance fees run similarly to endorsement deals. There are usually not as many opportunities since the soccer season is pretty long, but appearance fees do start to add up for players if they take advantage of them.
Examples of an appearance fee can be anything from a speech at a local event, to signing some autographs here and there. There will be local opportunities, as well as national brands looking for some type of appearance from a professional soccer player.
These opportunities to make an appearance and some money really show up for players who find themselves in markets where soccer is extremely popular. Having the ability to grab the attention of the locals, even with a player who is not a star, can be great for local business.
A few of these opportunities might not seem like much to a great in the game, but players making average money or even below average will be thankful for every opportunity.
The most challenging part about appearances is finding the time to fit it all in. Most players will try to take advantage during the offseason, but there might be opportunities during the year to fit something in as well to help with another revenue stream.
You can read more about how soccer players earn money in this post.
Do Professional Soccer Players Make Too Much Money?
Add everything up, and the very best soccer players in the world make millions and millions of dollars. In fact, they are getting to the point where they can start to earn close to $1 billion throughout their career if they play everything the right way. That’s a crazy amount of money, but considering how much the sport generates, it makes a lot more sense.
However, like many other sports, females are only earning a fraction of what the men are earning, You can read more why that it’s such a huge pay gap between the genders in this post.
Everyone must keep in mind that for as much as professional players may, they are always working for someone else. For example, the owners of clubs have more money generated from the success of the team, so that’s why they were able to pay players in the first place.
The same goes for endorsement deals and appearance fees. If these companies did not have the money to spend on top-tier talent, they wouldn’t do so.
It seems crazy at first to say that any person is making that much money off of what is essentially a schoolyard game. However, just like working in the entertainment business, it’s all bringing value to the table. The best of the best will always get paid well, but even average players are seeing their price go up.
