Inside a Professional Footballer’s Contract: Clauses, Bonuses and Approval Process

Ethics bonuses, temporary release clauses and image rights, just some of the details you may find in some of the world’s biggest contracts. 

But how is a contract structured, and what changes at different levels of the game?

This article will explore all of these talking points to help you understand what really goes into a professional footballer’s contract.

The Core of a Professional Football Contract: Wages, Bonuses and Clauses

Before we cover some of the more technical aspects of the contract process, it is important to highlight some of the more common features.

Riad Djellab is an agent at Global Glory Sports Management, and spoke to GIS about what goes into a deal.

“If it’s a big club, the deal is going to be in a lot more detail. If it’s non-league, there’s not going to be that much. It’s going to be the weekly wage and a few other things, for example, one of the players that we moved wanted to stay in a certain apartment, and that will be in the contract.”

After agreeing the contract length and the weekly, or base, wage, players often receive bonuses. In the case of elite talent, bonuses can make up to 40% of a player’s wage, football finance expert Keiran Maguire told BBC Sport. 

These bonuses can range widely, based on team or individual performances, as well as off-the-pitch activities.

Simple examples include bonuses for goals or assists, signing-on fees, and loyalty money awarded to players who stay at the club for a predetermined period of time.

Other common examples will see players receive a bonus if their team is promoted or qualifies for a tournament, such as the UEFA Champions League, which sometimes marks up to a 25% wage increase, Maguire said.

Away from the pitch, recent years have brought forward the likes of ethics bonuses. 

Part of the $70.6 million that Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain were recently ordered to pay Kylian Mbappe by French courts, an ethics bonus is a fee included in some contracts that reward players for what the club considers to be good behaviour. These are designed to protect the club’s reputation and commercial image, with sponsorship deals playing an ever-increasing role in the modern game.

Included in Neymar’s 2021 contract with the French giant, ethics bonuses can stipulate that players don’t make negative comments about their club, show exemplary behaviour to partners, opponents, and fans, whilst also ensuring players arrive on time for training sessions.

After the inclusion of bonuses, there are many clauses that players, agents and clubs can insert into contracts too.

Popular examples are release clauses, with some being permanent and some being temporary, media duties, and control over image rights.

The Contract Process Across the Football Pyramid 

The process for a contract to be approved by a nation’s football governing body, such as the FA, is inevitably more drawn out and technical at a higher level due to the involvement of agents and more specific clauses.

However, the process is still similar at a lower level. At these levels, contracts are sent to the governing body, who either accept or reject the contract based on its compliance with both national law and FIFA regulations. 

Most contracts that governing bodies receive are approved upon first time of asking (around 70% of the time, according to one GIS source). However, if it is rejected, that does not signal the end of the deal, but simply that the contract is to be amended by the player and club before being resubmitted for approval.

Why Football Contracts Are Rejected by Governing Bodies

Beyond the initial negotiation, there are some sticking points that often need to be rectified before professional contracts are approved. 

At elite levels, lawyers and legal teams are often consulted so that the contract is approved as quickly as possible, however deals further down the pyramid can see some back and forth between the club and governing body.

According to FIFA regulations, a professional player is, “A player who has a written contract with a club and is paid more for his footballing activity than the expenses he effectively incurs.” 

This means that clubs and players must follow national laws as part of what is a legally binding contract of employment, though as it’s in the world of football, these are often overlooked. 

This includes paying the national minimum wage and allowing for parental leave as well as holiday pay.

Clauses that withhold wages if a player is injured are also highly-scrutinised, as laws around sick pay also need to be obeyed for the contract to be approved. 

Contracts submitted to footballing bodies for approval are also advised to be concise when it comes to bonuses. Goal bonuses are an example of why this is significant.

Often, it is simply noted that a player will receive a certain amount of money after scoring a certain amount of goals. 

However, it is important for contracts to include which competitions this applies to, for example, as disputes can arise from players thinking goals in pre-season friendlies are counted, whereas a club may argue the bonus only applies to league goals. This is increasingly important at these lower levels, as smaller overall wage packages mean bonuses can make up a significant portion of a player’s income.

For loan players, it is further advised that clubs specify whether they can or cannot play in cup games, and attention is also paid by governing bodies to the date the contract is signed. 

If the document is signed more than five days before it was submitted, it tends to be sent back to be resigned to ensure it is up to date in order for approval, in which the deal is finally formalised.

As contracts employ a player to one club only, clubs who can afford to give players contracts will do so to prevent them from playing for other teams and risking injury. In England, the majority of players up to the 7th tier of the pyramid will be contracted.

Understanding Football Contracts

Overall, the process can take as little as a few hours if all parties respond timely and the contract is simple. Naturally, this process is more drawn out the higher up the football pyramid you go.

While there are many more niche or less common clauses and stipulations inserted into some contracts, you should now have a wider understanding of the process as a whole.

To deepen your learnings about the world of football business and finance, discover our range of courses at GIS.

Article by Zakaria Anani