Professional Footballer
A professional footballer is paid by a club to train and play through a season, and the performance on match day is what keeps the contract.
- Median salary*
- $124,800
4.5%vs last year, before tax
- People employed
- 1,700
0.0%vs last year
- Projected growth
- +12.7%
to 2035
- AI exposure*
- Low
- automation risk
- Average hours
- 40/wk
matches all-jobs average
- Shortage status
- Not in shortage
national
Professional footballers are contracted to a club and spend the week between the training base, the gym and the medical room, with a match at the end of it. What separates the job from coaching or officiating is that the player's own body is the product, so training is the work rather than preparation for it. Contracts are fixed-term, usually a season or a few years, which means a footballer is always playing for the next one.
How much do professional footballers earn?
The median full-time salary for a professional footballer is $124,800 per annum, before tax, up $26,500 since 2018.
What a footballer earns depends on the competition, the club and the contract, so the spread between a squad player in a second-tier league and a listed player in a national competition is wide. Match payments, finals bonuses and sponsorship sit on top of the base deal, and almost every contract is for a fixed term rather than ongoing. An injury that costs a season also costs the chance to negotiate the next deal.
What does a professional footballer do day to day?
The list below is what fills most weeks; the exact mix shifts with seniority and whatever stage the current work is at.
- Training most mornings in skills, tactics and set plays with the squad
- Playing a match most weeks through the season, including travel for away games
- Following the strength, conditioning and recovery program the sports science staff set
- Reviewing your own and the opposition's footage with the analysis team
- Making the media, sponsor and community appearances the club schedules
What skills do professional footballers need?
Employers look for , backed by Catapult GPS fluency and strong physical stamina and dexterity.
Specialist skills
Software and tools
- Catapult GPS
- Hudl Sportscode
- Vald ForceDecks
- TeamBuildr
General skills
- Physical stamina and dexterity
- Written communication
- Problem solving
- Attention to detail
- Time and deadline management
- People leadership
- Safety and compliance awareness
Is the job growing?
About 1,700 people work as professional footballers in Australia, and employment is projected to grow 12.7% over the decade to 2035. That's healthy, above-average growth, and the role should stay in solid demand.
How do you become a professional footballer?
Here's the path most professional footballers take, step by step.
- 1Play through the junior and talent pathways
Club and school football leads into representative squads and state academy programs, and selectors watch these competitions from the early teenage years.
- 2Move into a state league or an elite academy
This is where training becomes near-daily and you are playing against adults. It is usually semi-professional or unpaid, and it is the level where professional scouts do most of their watching.
- 3Sign with a registered player agent
Agents negotiate contracts and know which clubs have list space. Entry to a professional squad usually comes through a draft, a youth contract or a trial, and the agent manages the timing.
- 4Hold a professional contract and keep earning it
Deals are fixed-term, often a season or two, and each one is renegotiated on form, fitness and how the club sees your role in the side.
- 5Keep a qualification or trade running alongside it
Many players study or finish a trade during their playing years, because the career at the top level is shorter than most and the next one starts earlier than expected.
Ready to apply as a professional footballer?
Whether you're working toward becoming a professional footballer or already are one and want a hand with the next step (sharpening your resume for ATS screening, tightening your cover letter, or knowing what you'll actually be asked at interview), here are examples grounded in this specific role, not generic templates.
What jobs can a professional footballer move to?
None of the roles professional footballers typically move into pay more than the role itself. Strength and Conditioning Coach is the closest match. If a bigger salary is the goal, moving up into a senior or principal position within the role is usually the faster route than moving sideways.
| Move to | Typical pay change | Overlap | Retraining |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strength and Conditioning Coach Elite fitness and training discipline carry into conditioning work, though a degree in exercise science is needed.Known move | −$34,800 | 25% | requalify |
| Sports Coach A footballer's tactical knowledge and elite training habits transfer directly into coaching players, needing only a coaching certificate.Known move | −$49,800 | 45% | short course |
| Sports Umpire Reading the game at speed and knowing the rules make officiating a natural next step, with little extra training required. | −$67,600 | 86% | minimal |
Moves are chosen from Jobs and Skills Australia's Data on Occupation Mobility, which follows income tax records between 2011-12 and 2020-21, together with entry requirements and skill overlap. A known move is one people were seen making in that data. Pay change compares median full-time pay for the two roles.
Who works as a professional footballer?
The typical professional footballer is 23 years old; 94% are men, 47% work full-time, and full-timers average 40 hours a week.
- 23
- Median age
- 6%
- Female share
- 47%
- Full-time
- +0h
- vs all-jobs avg
What's it like being a professional footballer?
The year is built around a season rather than a working week: a long pre-season, a stretch of weekly matches, then a shorter break that still includes conditioning. Form and fitness are judged publicly every week, and selection sits with the coach, so a player can train well and still not play. It suits people who like the routine of daily training and the pressure of a result everyone can see.
What people like
- The training is the job. Most of the week is skills, gym and tactical work with the squad, and that daily work is what carries a player through a long season.
- Match day settles the week. Everything done since Monday comes down to a result on the scoreboard, and there is no ambiguity about how it went.
- The squad is close. Players spend more time with teammates and football staff than with almost anyone else, all working towards the same, clearly defined goal.
- Improvement is measurable. Video, testing and training data give a player evidence of progress that few other jobs provide so directly.
What people find hard
- Selection is not yours to make. A player can train well all week and still be left out, and the reason is not always explained.
- The body is always at risk. A soft-tissue or joint injury can cost weeks or a season, and the rehabilitation is as much a part of the job as playing.
- The season takes the year. Travel, night games and weekend fixtures push family, study and everything else into whatever gaps are left.
- The playing years are limited. The career is shorter than most, so what is earned during it has to cover the decades that follow.
Based on our synthesis of professional-body surveys and public accounts of the role, not first-person verified reviews.
Which industries employ professional footballers?
Arts and Recreation Services employs the largest share of professional footballers.
Top employing industries
- 1Arts and Recreation Services
Ranked by employment share; the source doesn't publish an exact percentage per industry.
| Year 12 or below | 69.4% | |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate III/IV | 10.6% | |
| Diploma / Advanced Diploma | 9% | |
| Bachelor degree | 8% | |
| Postgraduate | 0.9% |
Will AI replace professional footballers?
Exposure is low, because the job is decided by what a body does in a contest while a crowd watches, and none of that is automated. Technology has changed the preparation around the game, with GPS vests, load monitoring and automated match coding telling staff far more about training and recovery than they could see by eye. What those tools do not change is who plays, who wins the ball and who kicks the goal.
Share of typical working time by exposure level
- Training and match play on the fieldContested marks, tackles and set plays depend on a player reading the moment and moving, which no tool does on their behalf.45%low
- Strength, conditioning and recovery workWearable GPS units and force-plate testing measure load and fatigue, and staff use the numbers to trim or add sessions, but the lifting and running still belong to the player.20%moderate
- Video review and opposition analysisAutomated camera and coding systems break match footage into clips within hours, so review time goes on interpreting the clips rather than logging them.20%moderate
- Media, sponsor and community appearancesClub and sponsor content is increasingly drafted or edited with AI tools, though the interviews and appearances themselves still need the player present.15%high
Common questions about becoming a professional footballer
Straight answers to the questions people ask most.
How much do professional footballers earn?
Median full-time pay is $124,800 per year before tax, which means half of full-time footballers earn more than that figure and half earn less. What moves pay most is the level of competition and the contract, with national league squads, match payments, finals bonuses and sponsorship well above second-tier or semi-professional earnings. Because a playing career is short, the annual figure matters less than the total earned across it.
How do you become a professional footballer?
Almost everyone comes through junior and representative football into a state league or an academy attached to a professional club, where scouts watch. From there it is a draft, a youth contract or a trial arranged by a registered agent. A qualification or trade studied along the way gives you something to move into when the playing career ends.
Are professional footballers in demand in Australia?
Professional footballers are currently not in shortage, and employment is projected to grow 12.7% over the decade to 2035 over the decade to 2035. Squad places are set by how many clubs the competitions carry, so the number of top-level contracts moves slowly regardless of the overall figure. Semi-professional and community clubs are where most of the change in playing roles tends to show up.
Will AI change the job of a professional footballer?
Very little of the playing itself changes, because the job is decided by bodies in a contest, in real time. What has shifted is preparation, with GPS tracking, load monitoring and automated match coding now shaping how training weeks and review sessions are run. Media and sponsor work is the most exposed part of the role, since much of that content is drafted or edited with AI tools.
What can a professional footballer do after retiring?
Coaching is one route: a sports coach earns $49,800 less than a professional footballer, and tactical knowledge and elite training habits carry across with a coaching certificate as the main addition. Officiating requires minimal retraining because reading the game at speed is the same skill, though the pay is $67,600 less. Strength and conditioning coaching draws on the same fitness background, but a degree in exercise science is needed to qualify.
How many hours do professional footballers work?
Full-time footballers average about 40 hours a week once training, matches, travel and club duties are counted. Pre-season is heavier than the middle of the season, and a match week usually includes a recovery day and a lighter session. Much of the week is built around the fixture list rather than a fixed working day.
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