Pom in Oz column: Are EPL’s millions fair play?

If you follow the English Premier League, you know it’s the madness of the January transfer window and even with COVID-19 restrictions, there is still a lot of money swilling around the league

Do you fancy earning more than $500,000 a week (before tax, of course), only working half-days, with at least 10 weeks of holiday a year? Sounds appealing, doesn’t it? Well, it seems as simple as being born with a certain natural talent for soccer, training incredibly hard from a very early age, and no doubt catching a few lucky breaks along the way.

It may seem far-fetched but $500,000 a week is no longer considered an outlandish wage in the EPL.

All the teams finishing in the top 10 last year would have a fair number of players on that wage or even higher.

But surely no one person deserves to be on that sort of wage, considering the amount of time they actually put into their job? I can’t even begin to work out an hourly rate for a Premier League player.

Despite the outlandish figures, I would argue the players are literally worth every penny they get paid — not on the basis of talent v reward, though.

There are hundreds of occupations that require the same level of skill or higher.

To say the revenue involved in the EPL has increased is an understatement. TV rights alone net the league billions of dollars a year, then take into account merchandising and tickets sales, and the average EPL chairman is rolling around in more cash than Scrooge McDuck, Donald Trump and Mr Burns combined. So why not pass this money on to the people who actually do the lion’s share of the work?

Why aren’t other sportspeople or female soccer players paid anywhere near as much? It’s simple supply and demand.

Perhaps it’s time for a career change for this maths teacher. All I need is a time machine, a portable gym, tonness of added talent, and some good looks and charm (for the TV sponsorship).