NPFL: Mixed reactions trail NSC’s N2m minimum player salary

The National Sports Commission’s decision to introduce a minimum monthly salary of N2m for Nigeria Premier Football League players has continued to attract mixed reactions from stakeholders, with concerns raised over the ability of club owners to meet the new wage structure, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The NSC had, alongside a landmark increase in prize money for the league, announced the new minimum wage as part of sweeping reforms aimed at curbing the exodus of talented players to clubs abroad and strengthening the competitiveness of the domestic league. The previous minimum wage in the league was pegged at N150,000.

While some players and former players have welcomed the development as one capable of improving the standard of play in the league, questions have been raised over whether the NSC or the Nigeria Football Federation would support clubs in meeting the new obligation.

Rivers State Sports Commissioner and former NFF board member, Barrister Christopher Green, who doubles as chairman of Rivers United, said it was unlikely that all clubs in the league could afford to pay every player N2m a month without external support.

“Will the NSC or NFF be supporting the clubs? Because I don’t think all clubs can afford that new N2m minimum they said players in the league will now be getting,” Green said.

“If you want to pay a player N2m, the NSC should be able to give at least N100m to every club. If they are going to subsidise it, all well and good.”

Green also cited an unfulfilled financial pledge to buttress his scepticism about the commission’s capacity to back the new policy.

“This same NSC told me that they were going to give Rivers United N500m as representatives of Nigeria at the CAF Champions League last season, and we still have not gotten the money,” he said.

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However, some players have backed the reform, insisting it would help stem the tide of top talent leaving the league prematurely. Plateau United striker, Albert Hillary, said the policy would help the NPFL compete favourably on the continent.

“It is really a good move because if you check the current situation with our league, we often lose our best players every end of season to other clubs, not even in Europe, but other African countries,” Hillary said.

“I think it will help in growing the league to a certain level where we will be able to compete on the continent, even beyond the Club World Cup.”

A former NPFL player, who left the league for the Middle East and spoke on condition of anonymity, said the improved pay would also help attract foreign players back to the Nigerian league and encourage better financial planning among local players.

“This is why some of us left. The pay was not just okay. But with this, the level will be raised, and we will have more players coming from abroad, like it used to be,” he said.

“Again, not all players will travel abroad. A pay like this will help players plan well before retirement, because there is more to life after football than the career itself.”

The league board has maintained that the new era of club licensing will compel clubs to meet the required financial standards, as the NSC pushes ahead with reforms that also include a N1bn prize for next season’s league champions, up from the current N200m, with the runners-up to receive N800m and the third-placed team, N700m.

Enugu Rangers are the reigning NPFL champions, having clinched the 2025/2026 title to secure their ninth crown in the competition’s history.