Global Salary Survey (sportingintelligence.com)

[Guest je85]

http://espn.go.com/espn/story/_/id/7850531/espn-magazine-sportingintelligence-global-salary-survey-espn-magazine Full table in the link from 1-278, I think all Premier League teams are accounted for.

 

SPANISH SOCCER GIANT FC Barcelona has had a disappointing season, failing to repeat as Champions League winner and facing an all but certain second-place finish in La Liga. But the team's underachieving results are not from a lack of spending. For the second straight year, Barcelona is paying its players the highest average salary in the world at $8.7 million. The findings were revealed in the second annual ESPN The Magazine/SportingIntelligence Global Salary Survey. Full results will be released in conjunction with The Magazine's Money Issue, on sale May 4. The poll encompassed 278 teams, 14 leagues, 10 countries, seven sports and 7,925 athletes. Total wages calculated: $15.7 billion.

 

At the start of the 2011-12 season, Barcelona had a payroll of $217 million, with an average player salary of $8.7 million, almost $1 million more than the survey's second-place finisher Real Madrid, whose players earn an average of $7.8 million per season. It marks the second straight year Real Madrid has finished behind its La Liga rivals. In terms of total payroll, the New York Yankees are ranked second ($196 million) but fall to sixth in per-player average ($6.2 million).

 

"Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two most glamorous football clubs in the world," says Nick Harris, the editor of SportingIntelligence.com, which compiled the results. "It's no surprise that they have come in as one and two." The Spanish powerhouses are just two of seven soccer clubs in the top 10 of average salary per player, joined by Manchester City (3), Chelsea (4), A.C. Milan (7), Bayern Munich (9) and Internazionale (10). Along with the seven soccer clubs, three American teams -- the Yankees, Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia Phillies -- are represented in the top 10. Last year there were five.

 

"The rise of salaries in European soccer is unrelenting," Harris says. "You have much more stability and limits across American sports." Indeed, while the NFL remains the most profitable American sport by a wide margin, no team in the league started 2011 with a payroll higher than 75th, the position of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who are at $149.8 million, paying an average of $2.9 million per player. The Lakers, who were second on last year's list among American teams behind the Yankees, are now in the top spot for average salary per player ($6.3 million), with the Yankees ($6.2 million) coming in second. In contrast to the European soccer clubs, whose salaries continue to rise at an alarming rate, the Lakers and Yankees are actually both paying their players less than a year ago; the Yankees' drop was steeper, at 8 percent, compared with the Lakers' drop of 4 percent.

 

The Miami Marlins had the biggest jump of any team on the list, going from 123rd to 29th in average player salaries. Last year, the Marlins paid their players an average of $2.2 million; this year, they're paying $4.4 million. American teams that fell dramatically included the Orlando Magic and Boston Red Sox. The Magic were fifth a year ago, paying an average salary of $6.4 million. That figure has dropped to $4.6 million. The Red Sox, who were eighth last year, are now 19th, their average salary falling from $6 million to $5.1 million. Manchester City has also continued its rise up the payroll standings, paying its players an average of 7.4 million, which puts the team third in the world behind Barcelona and Real Madrid.

 

"If we had started this list in 2008, Man City wouldn't have even been a thought," Harris says. "Since being bought by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, they have spent over a billion dollars in players and paying wages." Manchester City qualified for the Champions League for the first time in club history last year and have again qualified in 2012.

 

TECHNICALLY SPEAKING: To find out which teams shell out the most dough, 278 teams in 14 major pro leagues, covering seven sports, spanning 10 countries, comprising 7,925 athletes making a combined $15.69 billion in salary were surveyed. Our final numbers, below, were compiled by Nick Harris, editor of sportingintelligence.com. "Average Weekly Pay" is calculated from base player salaries from current or most recently completed seasons from each sport, and excludes endorsements, bonuses, appearance fees and any other source of extra compensation. All figures converted to U.S. dollars.

 

 

Last years data is here: http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/news/story?id=6354899

 

 

 

Having a quick look myself things I noticed to be kind of interesting; Our drop in wages, Arsenal's high number (spend little on transfers lots on wages for youngsters maybe), Villa's high average (an MoN thing?), Liverpool's average being over double that of Everton and an increase on last season and I also found it interesting to see the increase for clubs like Stoke (+$11k) who are clearly gradually building still from the Championship.

[Guest WashyGeordie]

Even West Ham's are higher than ours.

 

Frightening for them as they might not even come up now.

[Guest je85]

Ours dropping $20k while improving the team is really impressive.

[Benwell Lad]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

[wormy]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

 

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not?

[Foluwashola]

Barcelona in spending most money shocker.

 

I was under the impression all NFL players were paid ridiculous amounts of money, like.

[Memphis]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

 

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not?

 

In almost all leagues except for the NBA (where there is a 5 year max now on contracts) you will often see 6, 7, or even 8 year deals.  The NHL (ice hockey) even has a couple of players on FIFTEEN YEAR contracts. 

[timeEd32]

The 15 year contracts in the NHL are just a way of skirting the salary cap. Contracts in the NFL are not guaranteed, especially on the backend of them so the length there can also be misleading. A top baseball player under age 30 will generally get a contract in the 6-10 year range. Baseball is the only one of the four without some kind of cap.

[Tiresias]

Borussia Dortmund's wages are very impressive for a league winning side

[junkhead]

Sunderland spend more than us on wages? Top Daaawgs.

[cubaricho]

Very interesting table.

[Benwell Lad]

Sunderland spend more than us on wages? Top Daaawgs.

 

..and with the long term contracts they've dished out to has-been overpaid dross, set against a backdrop of reduced gate revenues, it'll not be improving any time soon.

A further negative indictment of how the club was ran during Niall Quinn's tenure, but don't dare even whisper that to a macum, cos he's a legend.

[toonarmy]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

 

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not?

 

In almost all leagues except for the NBA (where there is a 5 year max now on contracts) you will often see 6, 7, or even 8 year deals.  The NHL (ice hockey) even has a couple of players on FIFTEEN YEAR contracts. 

 

It's scary to think how high football salaries are now and how fast they are growing when compared to US sports. NFL teams are way down on the list despite being the most popular sport, AND they have the massive TV revenues that european teams just don't have - the NFL makes $5 billion a year from TV contracts alone, which are distributed evenly among the 32 teams (aka $150 million a year), and that's before even adding in tickets in larger stadiums, merchandising deals, radio, advertising, licensing, sponsorships, etc. Salaries also have a hard cap for each team, so it's impossible to spend more than something like $150 million a year. The NBA and NHL have similar structures (though not necessarily as profitable), and even MLB has a structure so that it hasn't spiraled out of control even with more imbalance between teams. With all that combined, it's a very healthy structure setup to continue for a while. When I compare that to how football is going with the wages and billionaires leveraging so much debt to fund teams, it's impossible to think how this is all sustainable.

[Guest je85]

Sunderland spend more than us on wages? Top Daaawgs.

 

..and with the long term contracts they've dished out to has-been overpaid dross, set against a backdrop of reduced gate revenues, it'll not be improving any time soon.

A further negative indictment of how the club was ran during Niall Quinn's tenure, but don't dare even whisper that to a macum, cos he's a legend.

 

And looking at Villa's figures both current and from a year ago I think it will only increase under MoN.

[MW]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

 

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not?

 

In almost all leagues except for the NBA (where there is a 5 year max now on contracts) you will often see 6, 7, or even 8 year deals.  The NHL (ice hockey) even has a couple of players on FIFTEEN YEAR contracts. 

 

It's scary to think how high football salaries are now and how fast they are growing when compared to US sports. NFL teams are way down on the list despite being the most popular sport, AND they have the massive TV revenues that european teams just don't have - the NFL makes $5 billion a year from TV contracts alone, which are distributed evenly among the 32 teams (aka $150 million a year), and that's before even adding in tickets in larger stadiums, merchandising deals, radio, advertising, licensing, sponsorships, etc. Salaries also have a hard cap for each team, so it's impossible to spend more than something like $150 million a year. The NBA and NHL have similar structures (though not necessarily as profitable), and even MLB has a structure so that it hasn't spiraled out of control even with more imbalance between teams. With all that combined, it's a very healthy structure setup to continue for a while. When I compare that to how football is going with the wages and billionaires leveraging so much debt to fund teams, it's impossible to think how this is all sustainable.

 

surely football is more popular worldwide?

[juniatmoko]

no french team

[Village Idiot]

These figures look really off. I know they don't include bonuses but those are a big deal in football. Barça and Real Madrid pay much more than that when it's all said and done. Suppose it's the same for the rest of teams.

[Guest je85]

These figures look really off. I know they don't include bonuses but those are a big deal in football. Barça and Real Madrid pay much more than that when it's all said and done. Suppose it's the same for the rest of teams.

 

Yeah I was talking to a bloke that works in Villa's accounts and he said the base salary means fuck all really due to the amount of possible bonuses.

[SUPERTOON]

Villa look dead if they go down like.

[Guest je85]

Villa look dead if they go down like.

 

Would have said the same  about us a few years ago. According to last years data we were at around $65k they are currently on $78k. Given the players that left when we were relegated I think our average wage when we went down may have been pretty close to Villa's now.

[Benwell Lad]

Villa look dead if they go down like.

 

Would have said the same  about us a few years ago. According to last years data we were at around $65k they are currently on $78k. Given the players that left when we were relegated I think our average wage when we went down may have been pretty close to Villa's now.

 

..and could be saying the same about our dear neighbours in 12 months time.

[Pata]

Kolkata Knight Riders :lol:

[Teasy]

Must admit to being surprised by the composition of that list as I assumed American sportsmen were still way out ahead.

 

What always confused me as a young'un was that US contracts were announced with the whole contract's worth, not just weekly/monthly/yearly pay. And US deals are quite often longer than the 5 year limit in our football, are they not?

 

In almost all leagues except for the NBA (where there is a 5 year max now on contracts) you will often see 6, 7, or even 8 year deals.  The NHL (ice hockey) even has a couple of players on FIFTEEN YEAR contracts. 

 

It's scary to think how high football salaries are now and how fast they are growing when compared to US sports. NFL teams are way down on the list despite being the most popular sport, AND they have the massive TV revenues that european teams just don't have - the NFL makes $5 billion a year from TV contracts alone, which are distributed evenly among the 32 teams (aka $150 million a year), and that's before even adding in tickets in larger stadiums, merchandising deals, radio, advertising, licensing, sponsorships, etc. Salaries also have a hard cap for each team, so it's impossible to spend more than something like $150 million a year. The NBA and NHL have similar structures (though not necessarily as profitable), and even MLB has a structure so that it hasn't spiraled out of control even with more imbalance between teams. With all that combined, it's a very healthy structure setup to continue for a while. When I compare that to how football is going with the wages and billionaires leveraging so much debt to fund teams, it's impossible to think how this is all sustainable.

 

Revenue in Football isn't spread around as evenly, but you do have some Football clubs earning a lot more from TV rights than any NFL team (a lot more in revenue overall as well).  Also while the average NFL stadium is bigger, ticket revenue isn't due to the very small number of games in an NFL season.

 

I do agree that Football is much more out of control financially obviously.  With even average Premier League teams often spending more than the top NFL sides.  The whole billionaire play thing nonsense has totally distorted any financial sense and I hope the new Uefa rules will do something to counteract it.

[Teasy]

Villa look dead if they go down like.

 

Would have said the same  about us a few years ago. According to last years data we were at around $65k they are currently on $78k. Given the players that left when we were relegated I think our average wage when we went down may have been pretty close to Villa's now.

 

It would be even worse for Villa, since they rely more heavily on TV money then we did.

[Guest je85]

Average wage of a West Ham player is more than Newcastle, Leverkusen, Ath. Bilbao & Napoli.