EFL and PFA reach wage deferral deal for League One and Two players
In a significant development in football’s attempts to get to grips with the coronavirus crisis, the English Football League and the Professional Footballers’ Association, have made a collective recommendation that players in Leagues One and Two agree a wage deferral of up to 25% for April.
After negotiations over the Easter weekend, the two parties came up with the first communal settlement to be agreed on footballers’ wages. But one executive warned that for some clubs “it won’t be enough”.
The terms of the deal would mean no player would see his wage reduced below £2,500 a month, a figure equivalent to the maximum level of subsidy under the government’s furlough scheme. The deferral will also be accompanied by the establishment of a working group to look at player pay over the “short and medium term”.
A statement released jointly by both bodies said: “In order to deal with the most immediate payroll issue, the EFL is recommending to clubs that local discussions are held with players in respect of the month of April only.
“A compromise proposal has been agreed between the EFL and the PFA for those clubs engaged in deferral negotiations with their players, meaning that up to a maximum of 25% of players’ wages for April may be conditionally deferred within the following limits: players earning less than £2,500 per month will be paid in full; the 25% reduction must not take any player below £2,500 per month.”
The move has been welcomed by clubs, who have been looking at how to adjust players’ wages during the Covid-19 pandemic. “It’s a framework for discussions, it sets a benchmark,” one executive at an EFL club told the Guardian.
“For some clubs it won’t be enough. There was a feeling amongst clubs that a cut was required ... but it’s about the art of the possible. The move shows some willingness to work together which is going to be needed over the coming months.”
An attempt by the Premier League to recommend a 30% pay cut for topflight players was widely seen to have backfired after it failed to secure the approval of the PFA and led to clubs individually negotiating terms with players. Championship clubs – several of whom have wage bills that exceed their annual revenue – are also engaged in their own discussions.
Clubs in League One and Two are more reliant on match-day revenue and the EFL and PFA say they accept they share “common problems”. As a result a working group involving half a dozen player representatives from the two divisions, alongside the union and league officials, will seek to establish further common ground.
“In establishing the new group the EFL and PFA acknowledge the common problems faced by the League and member clubs, and the need for all parties to be part of a solution,” the statement read. “Dialogue with the working group will enable the League both to listen to the concerns of players and to explain the extent of the financial challenges. It will focus not just on the short term (May and June) but will address the medium-term position from the start of July onwards and into next season.”