How to Negotiate a Better Salary in Football

The job market in football is highly competitive, we all know that.

It appears to be the norm for clubs to hide their advertised salary from job sites, essentially creating a game of cat and mouse between the employer and candidate.

Like all sales processes, it’s a battle between two parties.

The practitioner who wants to get as much money as they can for the inevitable long hours they will be putting in. Then there is the club who want to find a suitable candidate for the lowest price possible.

To attain a job in the first place is a huge achievement in football these days. However, this has led to many accepting a low-ball offer which doesn’t match up to the effort applied in the role.

Whilst this may be acceptable in the early phase of your career, over time you will come to resent this and may force you to eventually leave in pursuit of a higher salary elsewhere.

What if we can create a way to start from a position of strength to negotiate a better salary?

Let’s dive in to see how.

Step 1: Conduct a Role Analysis

It’s important when applying for any role, regardless of whether the salary is advertised or not, that you are aware of market trends.

In football, there are no set pay bands like you have in other industries. It’s very much on the club to advertise at a suitable range for the requirements of the role.

Despite this lack of control, most roles will typically follow a pattern of salary ranges.

For example, its likely that an entry level fitness coach/sport scientist position will be in the range of £18,000-£25,000 per year.

Therefore, when preparing your negotiations for this role, if you go in demanding £50k then it’s likely you will be laughed out of the building.

Take a look at the job specification advertised. What qualifications and certifications are they asking for. You can typically judge a suitable salary requirement based on what level of candidate the club are seeking.

Below is an example from a recently advertised role as an U21s Physical Development Coach at West Ham United FC.

The factors here are: the academy are category 1 (highest level), they are asking for UKSCA/equivalent and BASES accreditation (high level qualifications), working directly with a key age group (transition to 1st team).

Therefore, you would be expected a high salary for this role relative to the level on the experience pyramid.

Step 2: Understand Your Worth

As mentioned earlier, many football fitness coaches are just happy to attain employment due to the high demand and won’t think much about what they bring to the role.

Understanding your own worth is critical when entering contract negotiations with a club.

When starting out at the bottom of the career ladder, you pretty much just have your degrees and certificates to fall back on.

But as you gain more experience, you will have more to show for your work.

It might be achievements with a club (e.g. winning the league). Maybe you are part of an MDT that had a consistently high player availability %.

Make a note of all the objective achievements you have made in your career and highlight these to your potential future club in order to negotiate from a position of strength.

This point is highlighted in the below image taken from Ian Coll (20 years high performance experience in football) in a recorded presentation for our mentorship community members recently.

Step 3: Negotiate Your Salary Last

The contract of a football fitness practitioner is similar to that of a player for most positions.

It’s rare to have just a base salary as your source of income.

Many will offer incentives, such as a promotion bonus, or other aspects to the salary package, such as a car or relocation fund.

This is important for certain roles, particularly if you are moving to a new country and want to make the transition as smooth as possible.

You may also have a family to consider when negotiating your contract. Maybe in this scenario, having a payment towards accommodation is important.

Another important aspect is the length of contract. Do you want to move your family to the other side of the world for a limited duration contract? Probably not.

Negotiate the contract package first and your salary last, as the final salary will depend on what you need in these initial areas.

Conclusion and Action Steps

The average football fitness practitioner will likely accept a lower salary than what they are worth.

Therefore, use these simple tips to enhance your contract negotiation skills:

1. Conduct a role analysis to understand the typical salary for the role you are applying for.

2. Understand what you are worth. Make a note of all your career achievements, both individually and collectively, and use them to come from a position of strength.

3. Negotiate your salary last to ensure you achieve your desired contract outcomes (e.g. contract length, package add ons) alongside a suitable base salary.

If you want further advice around contract negotiations and career development, check out my Football Fitness Mentorship Community. You will have access to a private community of experienced practitioners and mentor who are able to advise on key career decisions.

That’s all for this week. See you next time!