PFA CEO Gordon Taylor received £2.2M in '16-17.GETTY IMAGES
Professional Footballers' Association CEO Gordon Taylor is "under pressure to offer a justification" for his £2.2M ($3.1M) salary, which last year included a £777,000 bonus, according to Martha Kelner of the London GUARDIAN. The publication of the PFA accounts shows in '16-17 Taylor received a basic wage of £1.2M, his bonus and £271,300 in employers' National Insurance contributions. This is equivalent to around £6,027 ($8,367) a day or £42,308 ($58,736) a week, "giving Taylor parity with many of the highest paid Premier League players he represents." Revelations about the 73-year-old's remuneration package "angered many within the game." Former Chelsea player Graeme Le Saux called the package "absolutely scandalous," while former Crystal Palace Chair Simon Jordan said that it was "unjustifiable." Jordan: "It's nothing personal towards Gordon Taylor -- the Dalai Lama could be the chief executive of a union and on that money and I would still say it was wrong on so many levels" (GUARDIAN, 2/12). In London, Ben Rumsby reported Labour MP Ian Lucas condemned Taylor's latest pay packet as "horrendously excessive." Lucas said, "People have had enough of salaries at this level. At a time when real wages in this country haven't increased since 2004, I think your average football supporter will be appalled." Conservative Julian Knight said, "Precisely what value he offers for that sort of range of salary, that really is a question that needs to be answered and leads one to question the management at the PFA" (TELEGRAPH, 2/12).
