Most sports professionals have short term contracts, which can often mean an onerous mortgage application process. Lloyd Wells Mortgages highlights the challenges and how sports pros, like other self-employed individuals, can boost their chances of bagging a mortgage deal.
Tricky areas to be aware of are the maximum age that a sports professional can apply and how lenders will view any of the additional bonus received for performance or merchandising, according to the mortgage lender.
Sports professionals will have to prove to most lenders that they will be able to pay off their mortgage before they turn 35. Lenders will look at a maximum age of 33-35 for the end of a player’s career, therefore, they will only allow a term that takes the player up to this age.
How much do footballers get paid?
The common assumption is that all football pros are millionaires. That is not the case, according to The Professional Football Scouts Association (PFSA). The wage gap between the Premier League and the bottom division is vast.
Premier League footballer wages
The average wage of a Premier League footballer is just over £60,000 a week, which equates to more than £3 million a year.
Championship League wages
Championship wages are just over £4,000 a week, which is around £200,000 a year. This is an excellent example of how quickly wages can drop below the Premier League, even though they’re still generous, said the PFSA.
Bottom division wages
Players in the bottom division are paid considerably lower than Premier League and even Championship players, earning around £750 per week, which isn’t much higher than the national average.
“As footballers climb the rankings and show off what they have to offer, demand for them increases, which can quickly have them rolling in cash if they make the right career move,” said the PFSA.
What is a footballer’s plan B?
Lloyd Wells said there is a chance that lenders can look beyond the age constraints should the footballer or sports professional have a solid plan, with evidence, for what they will do after their playing career but in most cases, the term is capped to the age of 35.
Football players sometimes also receive bonuses’ for playing or scoring or where the team ends at the table at the end of the season. The way lenders view this will depend on the history of receiving it, said the mortgage lender.
“If you have received a regular bonus’ for the last 12 months or more, it is likely we can use this to help,” said Lloyd Wells.
Most footballers will have started their coaching badges and this really helps when applying for a mortgage.
“One of our footballer clients had been learning to fly and had their pilot’s license,” said Lloyd Wells.
