Hey Reader,

Most football job adverts don’t tell you the one thing you actually need to know.

The salary.

You see “competitive salary” and nothing else. So you apply blind, sometimes through two or three rounds, before anyone mentions money.

That might be about to change. The UK government is proposing new rules that would require salary information on job adverts. It is still at consultation stage and the detail isn’t settled, but the direction is clear.

I put a quick reaction to the news out last week and it's clearly an important topic. So I wanted to go deeper here, because I think this is one of the best things that could happen to our industry. Not just for people trying to get in. For everyone.

It saves everyone’s time

If the salary is on the advert, you know before you invest weeks whether a role works for you.

And it cuts both ways. Clubs get to interview people who actually sit within their budget, instead of getting deep into a process with someone who was never going to accept the number. Fewer wasted applications, fewer wasted interviews, better matches on both sides.

It forces a bit of honesty

Right now, a club can quietly advertise a role on a low salary and never have to say so out loud.

Put the number on the advert and that changes. If the pay is well below what the role deserves, fewer people apply, and the club might get called out for it. That nudges the whole industry towards paying people properly.

It makes salaries more competitive

Once numbers are out in the open, they get compared.

Clubs can see what other clubs pay. Candidates can see what a role is really worth. Over time that pushes pay up and pulls the outliers into line. A more open market is a more competitive one.

It helps the people who need it most

If you are early in your career, or changing industry to get into football, you are flying blind on money more than anyone.

No network to ask, no benchmark to compare against, no real idea what an analyst or a scout should earn at different levels. Transparency gives you that benchmark. It lets you go into a process knowing your worth, instead of guessing.

That matters most for the people with the least information, which is exactly who I spend my time helping.

The honest bit

Yes, some people will see a number and decide not to apply.

Good. That is the system working. Far better to know on day one than to find out three rounds deep, after hours of work, that the money was never going to add up.

Transparency isn’t a threat to football. Hidden salaries protect no one except the clubs paying under the odds. Opening them up is better for applicants, better for the clubs who pay fairly, and better for the industry as a whole.

It is a proposal for now, not law. But it is a good one, and I hope it lands.