HINT SHEET #8
Contracts, Salary & Market Value
Know what your players are worth – and what they’re costing you
💰 Contracts, Salary & Market Value – The Money Behind Your Squad
Every player on your books costs you money every single week. That’s obvious enough. What’s less obvious is how wages, market values, and contracts are all connected – and how getting on top of that relationship can make a real difference to your club’s finances over the course of a season.
This sheet covers the three linked concepts you need to understand: what a player is worth on the open market (Market Value), what you pay them each week (Salary), and how long you’re committed to paying it (Contract). Get these right and your wage bill stays manageable. Ignore them and you’ll find yourself haemorrhaging cash on players you can’t sell for what you’re paying them.
📊 1. Market Value – What a Player Is Worth
Every player has a Market Value – the game’s assessment of what they’re worth on the open market. It’s derived primarily from their Rating, so as a player improves (or declines), their market value moves with them.
Market value matters for three reasons:
- It sets the pricing band for transfers – you can’t buy or sell a player at just any price
- It forms the basis for their weekly wage
- It determines what the Supremos Circuit will pay if you sell directly to them
🎯 The Transfer Pricing Band
When you list a player for sale or make an offer on someone, the price has to fall within ±30% of their market value. You can’t massively underprice a player to do a mate a favour, and you can’t ask for the moon either. The band keeps the transfer market honest.
💡 If a player’s rating improves, their market value goes up – which means you might be able to sell them for more than you paid. The reverse is also true. A player who declines in rating can become very hard to shift at a price that makes sense.
💸 Selling to the Supremos Circuit
If you want a guaranteed sale with no haggling, you can sell directly to the Supremos Circuit. The trade-off is that you’ll only receive around 50% of market value. It’s the quick-and-easy option – useful when you need the cash or the deal slot, not so great if the player is worth real money.
💷 2. Salary – What You Pay Week to Week
A player’s weekly wage is based on their market value. The baseline works out at roughly 1/200th of their market value per week. So a player valued at £200,000 would earn around £1,000 per week as a starting point.
Wages are one of your biggest ongoing costs – they come out every week whether you play the player or not, whether you win or lose, and whether you’re flush or skint. Knowing what your wage bill looks like and what’s driving it is basic financial management.
⚙️ Adjusting Wages
You have some flexibility. Wages can be adjusted by up to ±15% of the market-value-based wage. That means you can pay a player slightly above or below their baseline rate – within limits.
Why would you pay more? To attract a player who might otherwise go elsewhere, or to keep a valuable squad member happy. Why might you pay less? A younger player on a first contract, or a fringe player who’s happy just to be at the club. Either way, you can’t stray too far from the baseline – the system won’t allow it.
⚠️ As a player’s rating rises, their market value rises, and their wage baseline rises with it. A bargain signing today could be a significant wage burden in two seasons’ time if they develop well. Factor that in when recruiting.
📋 3. Contracts – How Long You’re Committed
Every player is on a contract with a set number of weeks remaining. This is shown in your squad listing as the CNT column. When a contract runs out, you need to have renewed it – or the player will leave.
🔄 Renewal Options
When you renew a contract, you have three options:| Contract Length | Weeks | Best For |
|---|---|---|
| Short | 15 weeks | Players you’re not sure about, fringe squad members, or anyone you might want to sell soon |
| Medium | 30 weeks | Solid squad players you want stability with – roughly one full season |
| Long | 45 weeks | Key players, young talents you’re investing in, anyone you’re building around |
You can renew a contract at any point – you don’t have to wait until it’s about to expire. In fact, letting contracts run down too far is a risk. Keep an eye on the CNT column in your Manager’s Report and stay ahead of it.
🔍 Contract length doesn’t affect the weekly wage. Whether you sign someone for 15 weeks or 45, the weekly cost is the same. What you’re committing to is how long that cost continues.
🔗 4. How the Three Things Connect
Rating → Market Value → Wage. That’s the chain. And contracts determine how long you’re locked into whatever wage that chain currently produces.
Here’s why that matters in practice:
| Situation | What’s Happening | What to Think About |
|---|---|---|
| 🌟 Young player developing fast | Rating rising → MV rising → wage baseline rising | Great news for the team, but budget for a higher wage bill ahead |
| 📉 Older player declining | Rating falling → MV falling → harder to sell at a decent price | Consider selling while MV is still reasonable – don’t wait too long |
| 💰 Expensive squad member | High wage eating into budget every week | Is their contribution worth it? Would a lower-rated player do the job for less? |
| 📋 Contract running low | CNT approaching zero | Renew now, sell before it expires, or risk losing the player for nothing |
| 🛒 Buying a player | Price within ±30% of MV, new wage to budget for | Don’t just look at the transfer price – look at what they’ll cost every week |
🧠 5. Practical Tips for Smart Managers
- Check your wage bill regularly. It’s in your financial report every week. Know what it is and what’s driving it.
- Don’t over-pay for depth. Fringe players and squad fillers don’t need to be on maximum wages. Use the ±15% adjustment where it makes sense.
- Don’t let contracts expire. You’ll lose the player. Build a habit of reviewing CNT values in your squad list each week.
- Think twice before long contracts on ageing players. A 45-week deal on a 33-year-old might look fine now – but in two seasons you could be stuck with a declining player on an unmoveable deal.
- If you’re planning to sell, sell earlier rather than later. Market value tracks rating, and if a player is past their peak, every week you wait could cost you money on the eventual sale price.
- Remember the Circuit is a floor, not a target. ~50% of MV is always available. Use it as a baseline when valuing a quick sale, not as a benchmark for what you should be aiming for.