Following reports of Manchester City star Erling Haaland’s new contract, we have analysed the wage bills in the Premier League and found that, assuming all costs follow standard UK payroll procedures, a substantial amount will be paid in income tax, employee and employer National Insurance (NI), and the Apprenticeship Levy.
Taking the estimates available on the Capology website, the current total salaries equate to £1,912,196,000, across 558 players, giving an average annual salary of £3,426,875.
On these estimates, the interaction with UK taxes is as follows (amounts rounded for ease):
As you can appreciate these are significant costs that are increasing further due to the change in NIC rates from April 2025.
Although the football “business” world is different to that which most businesses across the UK face, the increase in NIC highlighted above will impact businesses throughout the UK (alongside the National Minimum Wage increases).
UK businesses must develop strategies to mitigate rising costs to avoid reducing working hours or making redundancies. Some key areas to consider include salary sacrifice options (such as for pensions and electric cars), share schemes, and reviews of employee benefits and expenses (to identify more cost-effective or tax-exempt solutions). Additionally, companies should assess their workforce to ensure they are taking advantage of employer National Insurance contributions savings when hiring workers under the age of 21 or apprentices under 25.
The advice is to start looking before the tax “deadline” day comes around in April 2025 (which is when the new rates go live).
Get in touch
If you would like to speak with one of our tax specialists on how the NIC could impact you and your business please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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