COVID-19: How much of a pay cut should footballers take, by social grade

Due to the coronavirus (i.e. covid-19) pandemic, some Premier League football clubs may struggle financially over the next few months, due to the cancellation and/or postponement of football fixtures. During a representative survey of the British adult population, undertaken on the 31st March 2020, respondents were asked their opinions on whether Premier League football players should be prepared to take a 'pay cut' during the COVID-19 pandemic. The respondents that indicated that players should be prepared to take a 'pay cut' were subsequently asked how much of a pay cut they thought players should take. Responses were subsequently been categorized by the NRS social grade of the respondent.

The NRS social grades are a system of demographic classification used in the United Kingdom. The grades are grouped here into ABC1 and C2DE; these are taken to equate to middle class and working class, respectively.

Respondents within both ABC1 and C2DE social grade groups, the greatest share indicated that Premier League football players should be prepared to halve their salary with 34 percent and 29 percent respectively.

Distribution of opinions on how much of a pay cut premier league football players should be prepared to take during the COVID-19 pandemic, by NRS social grade

Characteristic	10 or less reduction in salary	20 reduction in salary	30 reduction in salary	40 reduction in salary	50 reduction in salary	60 reduction in salary	70 reduction in salary	80 reduction in salary	90 reduction in salary	100 (i.e. All of their salary being cut)	Don't know
ABC1	1%	11%	6%	5%	29%	4%	7%	12%	7%	9%	9%
C2DE	1%	8%	6%	4%	32%	4%	7%	9%	6%	9%	13%

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Release date

April 2020

More information

Region

United Kingdom

Survey time period

31st March 2020

Number of respondents

1,976 respondents

Age group

18 years and older

Special properties

All GB adults who think premier league footballers should be prepared to take a pay cut

Method of interview

Online Access Panel

Supplementary notes

The source adds the following information: "For the following questions, when we talk about the 'coronavirus', we are referring to the current global outbreak of the coronavirus/ covid-19 pandemic. For the following questions, by a 'pay cut' we mean a reduction in an individual's usual salary."

This question was phrased by the source as follows: "How much of a pay cut do you think premier league footballers should be prepared to take during the coronavirus (i.e. covid-19) pandemic in the UK? (Please select the closest option)."

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