NO PFA PAY CUTS
Unlike other sporting bodies, union paying all 62 staff in full
THE PFA have not asked any of their 62 employees to take a pay- cut during the Covid-19 pandemic, Sportsmail has learned.
The union’s willingness to pay all of its employees in full throughout the last six months is at odds with the rest of the sporting world’s response to the crisis, with Premier League and Football League clubs, the ECB, RFU and most governing bodies imposing pay cuts and other cost-cutting measures.
The PFA’s staffing costs for 2019 were £6.2million, a figure that is expected to increase this year despite the threat that Covid- 19 could decimate finances.
Chief executive Gordon Taylor received a salary of £2m, finance director Darren Wilson got £345,000 — and more than a third of the staff were paid in excess of £60,000.
In addition, key management personnel such as Taylor, Wilson and Trustees of the PFA Charity — including Garth Crooks and Brendon Batson — shared employee benefits worth over £3m.
The PFA have responded to the pandemic by making a £1m donation to NHS charities, with Taylor also contributing £500,000 from his own personal wealth, but they have not offered any financial assistance to cashstrapped clubs and their failure to implement savings has raised eyebrows across the game.
The union are cash-rich with assets of £68m, largely due to a long-standing funding deal with the Premier League who give them £23m a year over the current three-year cycle. As
Sportsmail reported earlier this week, Wilson’s salary has sparked outrage in the Football League, inflaming tensions caused by the PFA obstructing their attempts to cut costs which many clubs feel will be needed to stay in business this season in the absence of gate receipts.
The PFA advised players throughout the Premier League and Football League against taking pay cuts earlier in this year when the effects of lockdown were first being felt, and have taken the EFL to arbitration after League One and League Two clubs voted to introduce a salary cap this season.