We’re all aware that football players are some of the wealthiest people globally – and this is no exception for Premier League players. In fact, on average, the Premier League is able to offer bigger salaries than any other league.
Astoundingly, the highest paid player in 2024, Kevin De Bruyne, was paid a staggering £20m this year alone. Something that most of us could quite literally only dream about. So, whilst the rest of the country (and world) feels the effects of the rising cost-of-living, a continued topic up for debate is “are Premier League players paid too much?”. Let’s take a look.
The Premier League was founded back in May 1992 and since then, it’s fair to say the average salary through the years has seen a disproportionate growth.
Not only are Premier League salaries incomprehensible to the everyday individual but on average, players within the league are even paid more than their equals in La Liga, Serie A, and the Bundesliga.
And whilst the top Premier League teams will no doubt increase those averages listed above, even the mid-table teams are being offered the likes of £100,000 a week contracts. Begging the question, when will the salaries stop increasing?
It’s interesting to see how this compares to other sports too. Take Premiership Rugby for instance, the average salary of a senior player in 2020 was £143,699[1], which increased to £171,187[2] in 2024.
The first noticeable difference (one that’s pretty hard to ignore too) is how much less professional rugby players are paid, whilst still being on an impressive and generous salary themselves. Secondly, the disproportionate growth that can be seen in the Premier League salaries throughout the years isn’t quite the same for rugby.
With the average Premiership player seeing an increase of £27,488 in how much they were paid between the years 2020 and 2024, versus a sizeable £500,000 for the Premier League.
So, what are they bringing to the table that Premiership rugby players aren’t? Well, depending on who you ask that question to may of course impact the answer – but a major factor that plays into the pay disparity is brands and sponsorships. Football has a much larger viewership than other sports, including rugby, and this means big companies are willing to sponsor players for big money.
So, what do we think? In short, yes Premier League players are paid too much, and as salaries continue to excessively grow the disparity becomes harder to ignore. Of course, it seems fair that a professional player to that degree of skill receives wages substantial of this, but what added value are they bringing that makes them deserving of more than almost all other professions. However, whether you’re for or against footballers being paid large amounts, the fact is it’s unlikely they’ll start earning less anytime soon.
[1] https://www.ultimaterugby.com/news/revealed%3A-the-highest-and-lowest-paid-positions-in-the-premiership/646008
[2] https://metro.co.uk/2023/02/12/how-much-do-rugby-players-get-paid-18256998/