 "Players requested to take salary cuts up to 25% ahead of new season as ISL clubs fight for 'survival': Report")
Star footballers could be forced to take a pay cut of up to 25% for the coming season of the Indian Super League (ISL) as clubs are looking to cut costs for the truncated edition that starts next month.
The deadlock in Indian football is moving towards its end as the top division league, suspended since its original start date in September last year, is set to start in February 2026. Indian domestic football came to a standstill after the 15-year commercial rights deal between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) ended last year. AIFF has been unable to find a new commercial for the league since then.
After continuous discussions, the plans to revive the ISL are on track as the domestic season has been scheduled to resume on February 14. However, since the league will go on without a commercial partner, the costs will have to be limited. A big casualty of this cost-cutting is set to be the salaries of players.
Player wages an issue for ISL clubs
Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal on Wednesday took to social media and urged players to make sacrifices as he revealed that he had been running the club on losses. In fact, almost all ISL clubs struggle to make profits and a large part of their budget to goes to player wages.
Tremendous sacrifice from all clubs is being asked for to play the ISL in its current format. Repercussions if we don’t have a league are very worrying. Would like to take this opportunity to thank the honourable sports minister for his intervention and his proposal. Truly hope…
— Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) January 7, 2026
With the clubs having to spend out of their pockets in the absence of a commercial partner for the upcoming season, the players have reportedly been asked to take pay cuts.
According to a report in the Indian Express, at least three clubs have told their players, who earn more than Rs 1 crore per season, to take a pay cut of 20-25%. Players earning less than Rs 1 crore too are staring at a loss of 10-15%.
The report further reveals that at least six clubs were ready to let go of the current season so that they would be able to start from scratch next season and manage their finances better by ‘bringing the salaries under control’. However, all the clubs were not on board with this idea.
An anonymous Indian player has told Indian Express that the clubs are asking for a ‘plain yes or no, without discussing the details’ of the revised salary structure. The clubs reportedly want players to ‘understand the situation’ as they might not be able to play in the league otherwise.
The report also revealed that all the stakeholders finally agreed to resume the league only after sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya’s insistence. Mandaviya reportedly brought in the fact that a FIFA sanction or complaint could affect India’s 2036 Olympics bid. Stakeholders, including the government, also decided that the players will be requested to agree to pay cuts since doing it arbitrarily might prompt someone to go to FIFA.
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