League 2 - player wages

[CoveRangers1922]

Does anyone have an inclination of what a league 2 player would earn? Obviously there would be variations per player and club.

Squad player - ?

Regular first team starter - ? 

Best player - ?

Cover have taken in some big name signings (on loan or short contracts) who have played in much higher leagues. My guess is that they are on a pretty penny but probably lower than what I imagine. All of them have regular day jobs so they can't be on "rockstar wages"

 

 

 

 

[CoveRangers1922]

I was done at Forthbank a few weeks ago and heard a steward saying that some of the young fringe players are on as little as £50 a week which does seem really low.

[AlbionMan]

38 minutes ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

I was done at Forthbank a few weeks ago and heard a steward saying that some of the young fringe players are on as little as £50 a week which does seem really low.

If anyone was interested should he be asking Cove's stewards for an insight into the club's wage structure, or does Cove keep,stewards out of the loop on players' wages?

it's more likely that when overhead they were discussing their own remuneration for a Saturday afternoon.

[CoveRangers1922]

13 minutes ago, AlbionMan said:

If anyone was interested should he be asking Cove's stewards for an insight into the club's wage structure, or does Cove keep,stewards out of the loop on players' wages?

it's more likely that when overhead they were discussing their own remuneration for a Saturday afternoon.

Perhaps he was speculating or perhaps he had some inside knowledge; who knows.

[Francesc Fabregas]

I've no idea how much any of our players are paid but when we signed Mark McGuigan from Stranraer, it was written into his contract that he was allowed to use part of the Ochilview pitch on a Sunday. free of charge, for his striker training. An interesting quirk.

[Super Elgin City]

Have heard figures upwards of £500 per week mentioned for some players in the league.

[CoveRangers1922]

3 minutes ago, Super Elgin City said:

Have heard figures upwards of £500 per week mentioned for some players in the league.

I thought that the top earners in the league would be close to this mark. That makes for a nice yearly salary. Anything much higher than that figure and getting closer to 4 figures per week would probably be out of reach even for the richest league 2 sides.

I think I read that the bottom teams in the SPL like St Mirren/Hamiltion/St Johnstone have an average annual first team player salary of £40-50k.

[Northboy]

There is little reliable data on this and figures quoted are more likely to be rumours rather than accurate. Like Super Elgin City I've hear figures of £500 per week or even higher but I've also heard figures as low as £30-40 per week.  My instinct is that most players in League 2 would be earning a very limited basic wage and the opportunity to make any reasonable money would come from signing on fees, win bonuses, individual player sponsorship, expenses etc.

[Muzza81]

Fyvie and Aird will not be on less than £500 a week. As others have stated, and will come on with more knowledge of the subject than me, players can’t be paid £30 a week as that would be below minimum wage. 
 

Cove will have the largest budget with Edinburgh second. The rest a wee bit behind. This is purely speculation. 

[Cowden Cowboy]

55 minutes ago, Northboy said:

There is little reliable data on this and figures quoted are more likely to be rumours rather than accurate. Like Super Elgin City I've hear figures of £500 per week or even higher but I've also heard figures as low as £30-40 per week.  My instinct is that most players in League 2 would be earning a very limited basic wage and the opportunity to make any reasonable money would come from signing on fees, win bonuses, individual player sponsorship, expenses etc.

You can't really pay pro players in SPFL £30 or £40 a week now - those days are gone.  Minimum wage has seen to that.  You might get £50/£60 for pretty young players.  But your older players will be more.  Bonuses, signing on fees, etc aren't regarded by players as substitutes for wages - they are extras.  How much a week is the basic question when looking to sign a player.  Bear in mind that if you had a week where you say had 3 hours training and a long away trip say leaving at 8am and home at 8pm (including time for pre-match meal) then that is another 12 hours = 15 hour week = pay of at least £120 a week (at £8 per hour approx. minimum wage).  Danny Denholm in Nutmeg magazine gave  a reasonably accurate general overview recently for L2 - two figures are shown the first for a title contender and the second for a bottom of the table side.  U20 low earner £75/£50, U20 'star' player £120/£100, 1st team regular defender £250/£200, star midfielder/striker £350/£200, high earner 1st team £250/£150, low earner 1st team squad £150/£100, average 1st team wage £175 to £200/£150. 

You also will have richer clubs paying even bigger money for some star players who could be playing at  a higher level.  Wages in L2 have been pushed up by minimum wage, the Rangers year and the trapdoor/pyramid. 

[CoveRangers1922]

35 minutes ago, Cowden Cowboy said:

You can't really pay pro players in SPFL £30 or £40 a week now - those days are gone.  Minimum wage has seen to that.  You might get £50/£60 for pretty young players.  But your older players will be more.  Bonuses, signing on fees, etc aren't regarded by players as substitutes for wages - they are extras.  How much a week is the basic question when looking to sign a player.  Bear in mind that if you had a week where you say had 3 hours training and a long away trip say leaving at 8am and home at 8pm (including time for pre-match meal) then that is another 12 hours = 15 hour week = pay of at least £120 a week (at £8 per hour approx. minimum wage).  Danny Denholm in Nutmeg magazine gave  a reasonably accurate general overview recently for L2 - two figures are shown the first for a title contender and the second for a bottom of the table side.  U20 low earner £75/£50, U20 'star' player £120/£100, 1st team regular defender £250/£200, star midfielder/striker £350/£200, high earner 1st team £250/£150, low earner 1st team squad £150/£100, average 1st team wage £175 to £200/£150. 

You also will have richer clubs paying even bigger money for some star players who could be playing at  a higher level.  Wages in L2 have been pushed up by minimum wage, the Rangers year and the trapdoor/pyramid. 

Informative post.

You can see how having a "regular job" to supplement the footballing wage is better financially for many part time players than going full time for a club in a division or two higher. It's got to be a difficult decision for players who potentially could be playing for a full time club. The lure of full time employment in the sport you love and the prestige of playing for a more senior club versus the money/stability of playing p/t and holding a regular job that you can do after your footbaling career ends.

It's been in the press than Mitch Megginson turned down Championship/SPL sides to play p/t and keep his well paid job purely because the higher league side couldn't match his overall wage. I'd think this is fairly common. Sure this was the case with Rory McAllister and Martin Bavidge of Peterhead.

[Jason King]

3 hours ago, CoveRangers1922 said:

I was done at Forthbank a few weeks ago 

Most people there have been....

[CoveRangers1922]

4 minutes ago, Jason King said:

Most people there have been....

. My head knew what I wanted to write but my fingers didn’t comply. Gladly we didn’t get done and managed to edge out with a 2-1 victory

[rhliston]

Remember reading an article in Nutmeg magazine concerning players wages in the various leagues a few months back.

As far as  can remember a top player at least £800 a month thou that figure could be higher in certain circumstances. 

First team regular £500 to £600 a month

Squad member £300 to £400 a month. That figure will be less I reckon for younger players. 

 

 

 

[rhliston]

1 hour ago, Muzza81 said:

Fyvie and Aird will not be on less than £500 a week. As others have stated, and will come on with more knowledge of the subject than me, players can’t be paid £30 a week as that would be below minimum wage. 
 

Cove will have the largest budget with Edinburgh second. The rest a wee bit behind. This is purely speculation. 

I reckon the Binos must have the 3rd highest budget after these two, for the rest I reckon a wee bit behind us and us for Queens Park no idea. 

[CoveRangers1922]

Being from Aberdeen, I've been to Pittodrie a few times (not many) over the last couple of years and when I'm sitting in the stand watching the Cove team of this year, and our opponents I must admit, I think to myself it's a thin line in regards to the quality on display but yet such a large difference in wages. That makes me hopefully in the chance to maybe move up a league or even two in the future years but disappointed in the disparity in money amongst the top league and the lower leagues.

 

Should say I much prefer watching L2, L1 and the championship compared to the SPL.

[cmontheloknow]

Just as a comparison down the way, Lok run with a low six figure wage bill annually.

[The Spider]

1 hour ago, cmontheloknow said:

Just as a comparison down the way, Lok run with a low six figure wage bill annually.

I'd be very surprised if the total player wagebill for any L2 club (other than QP for the time being obviously) was appreciably below £100k - is that a reasonable minimum budget for this league?

[Cowden Cowboy]

£100k would pretty much be bottom of the league stuff. 16 players at £120 per week

[spiders4ever]

35 minutes ago, The Spider said:

I'd be very surprised if the total player wagebill for any L2 club (other than QP for the time being obviously) was appreciably below £100k - is that a reasonable minimum budget for this league?

Annie will know given he is so anxious for us to go professional.