john craig wrote:Imkhawx wrote:john craig wrote:Imkhawx wrote:I can't validate this with numbers but bear with me and assume that the average footballer in Britain earns 3000 pounds a week.. If you do the math, in a 15 year career, the footballer earns approximately 2.4 million pounds before tax.... If you think about it, thats not that much different from what a professional in other areas can earn in their 40 year career....
I accept your arguments, with freedom of contract after you've done the job for the agreed time etc, but with football it's different. Clubs pay huge transfer fees to bring players into clubs, so for a player to be able to walk away for nothing at the end of the deal is obviously bad for the club. I can't think of too many other professions where a company has to pay such a huge fee to bring in an employee on top of their wages. The whole 'freedom of contract' situation in football stinks imo. It would only truly be fair if transfer fees were abolished completely and all players were forced to stay at a club until their contract expires, when they could then move on. At the moment contracts aren't worth the paper they're written on.
And I just quoted the part of your post above to highlight another point. I accept footballers have short careers, but the majority of them are overpaid for what they have to do, even players outside the premiership. It's a short career, but what is there to stop them going back to university or getting a less well-paid job when they finish playing?? That's what the rest of us have to do isn't it? So I don't buy into the whole 'poor footballers they have a short career' bullsh.it. They chose the career in the first place.
On the seond point you raised, I beg to differ....
Professional sportsmen have to sacrifice a great deal in order to make their dreams come true..... In many cases, this includes their education...
They know that they may only ever get 1 shot to make their choice a success and most will pull out all the stops and make all the sacrifices that they feel is necessary....
I've read many interviews and comments from footballers on what they would have done with their lives if football was suddenly taken away form them...... Many a time, the responses they give is that they'd probably be a barman, tradesmen etc.....
Among them were greats like Best, Pele etc etc....
I think that it's best to agree to disagree on this one...
Fair enough mate, we'll agree to disagree on that one.
The only thing I will say on that though, is that what's wrong with being a barman or a tradesman?
Footballers still get paid way too much in general, despite what sacrifices they've made to get there. I just don't think you can defend that by saying 'they deserve it because it's a short career'. It's not as if they can't fulfill some other role in society when they finish playing other than play golf.
Cheers mate.....
Good discussion this thread....