The Highest-Earning Irish Stars In The Premier League
Football is an incredibly high-valued industry, with the Premier League alone worth £1.5 billion. This value comes from things like sponsorships, ticket sales, merchandise sales and so on. One of the big contributors to the industry is betting. Football betting is one of the most popular forms of sports betting in the UK and Ireland with profits being fed back into the football industry.
With an industry so big, it’s commonplace for successful football players to bring in seven-figure salaries. So how does betting contribute to the industry’s revenue and which Irish Premier League players are the highest earners?
How Football Betting Contributes To The Industry
Football betting is one of the most common forms of sports betting in both the UK and Ireland. As a whole, betting is a huge contributing factor to the value of the football industry.
Football culture is no longer just about the physical stadiums and the game being played. Technology and betting industries have become a big part of it now too, with football betting and predictions becoming an essential part of the experience. The profits earned from betting allow betting sites to sponsor clubs, putting money back into the industry.
These sponsorships and partnerships bring funds into the clubs that they then use in their annual budgets to improve their infrastructure, develop their academies and sign new players. It is estimated that in 2020, gambling contributed approximately £70 million to the Premier League and £40 million to lower league clubs. In the 2022/23 season of the Premier League, eight clubs had front-of-shirt sponsorships from betting sites like these bringing in around £60 million a year. In total, this season saw £462.5 million spent on agreed kit sponsorships.
Ireland’s Highest Earners
Roy Keane
Salary: £4.7 million
Roy Keane is an Irish former professional football player and coach. Considered the most successful Irish football player of all time, Roy Keane achieved 19 major trophies throughout his career. Roy Keane spent a considerable about of his football career playing for Manchester United where he won 17 out of his 19 trophies. Known for his skills as a midfielder, Roy Keane made it onto the World’s Greatest Living Players list of the FIFA 100 in 2004 and went on to be included in the Premier League Hall of Fame.
Keane’s career lasted 14 years, seeing him playing for Cobh Ramblers, Nottingham Forest, Manchester United and Celtic.
John O’Shea
Salary: £4.1 million
A professional football coach and former player, John O’Shea is known for his versatile skill set having played in multiple positions on the pitch. The majority of John O’Shea’s career was spent playing for Manchester United. Here, he won five Premier League titles along with an FA Cup, two Football League Cups, the FIFA World Cup, four FA Community Shields and the UEFA Champions League.
Séamus Coleman
Salary: £3.9 million
Séamus Coleman is a professional football player, playing for both Everton and the Republic of Ireland national team as a right-back and captain. Having also dabbled in Gaelic Football, Séamus Coleman started his career in Killybegs playing for St Catherine’s. Before moving on to Everton in 2009, Coleman also played for Sligo Rovers in 2006. During his time with Everton, he also spent half a season on loan helping Blackpool get promoted via the Championship play-offs.
Since 2011, Coleman has been a senior international player for the Republic of Ireland, being named their new captain in 2016.
Robbie Keane
Salary: £3.5 million
Robbie Keane is a professional coach and former football player. As a striker, Keane began his professional football career with Wolverhampton Wanderers and has since played for Milan, Leeds United, Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Celtic and West Ham United. From 2006 to 2016, Keane was also captain of the Republic of Ireland club, becoming one of the team’s top goal scorers having scored 68 goals for the Republic of Ireland over his 18-year international career.
Shay Given
Salary: £2.86 million
Shay Given, or Séamus John James Given, is a former professional footballer widely known as one of the best Irish goalkeepers in history. Starting his career with Celtic, throughout his career Given went on to play for Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United, Manchester City and Stoke City.
Given is the second-highest capped Irish player with a total of 134. With a minimum of 100 caps required for membership, this achievement allows Given to be part of the FIFA Century Club.
Shane Long
Salary: £2.6 million
Shane Long is another successful Irish professional football player who played as a striker. He is also known for his career in hurling early in his life. Beginning his football career at Cork City, Long has also played for Reading, Bromwich Albion and Hull City. In 2019, Long scored the fastest goal in the whole of the Premier League history. Alongside this, Long has a 14-year career with the Republic of Ireland national team where he earnt 88 international caps and scored 17 goals.
Published by Patrick Jane
06.04.2024