Indian football mess: Players anxious over salary cuts, ISL clubs say necessary for ‘survival’

For months, India’s footballers waited for the domestic season – which had been on pause for nine months – to resume. When it was finally announced on Tuesday that the Indian Super League, the top division, would kick off on February 14, there was relief. But it quickly gave way to more anxiety.

Multiple clubs have now asked the players to take a salary cut of up to 25 per cent as the owners find ways to cut costs ahead of a truncated season. The proposed new structure is set to have 72 fewer matches than the 2024-’25 season. An Indian player said the clubs are asking a ‘plain yes or no, without discussing the details’ of the revised salary structure. The player added that the clubs have told them that if they do not ‘understand the situation, then we might not play in the league’.

Indian men’s football is wading through its biggest crisis in decades. While the national team’s fortunes have plummeted, having failed to qualify for the 2027 Asian Cup, the domestic season has come to a standstill after the 15-year commercial rights deal between the All India Football Federation (AIFF) and Reliance Sports expired on December 8, 2025. When the AIFF floated a tender for a new partner, they did not receive a single bid.

After months of back-and-forth, it was finally agreed on Tuesday that the new season, which was to begin in September last year, would finally get underway next month. After initially expressing their apprehensions, mostly due to the increased costs, all 14 teams agreed to participate in the single-leg home-and-away format, but only after the intervention of Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya.

During the meeting between the officials from the sports ministry, AIFF and ISL franchises, club executives raised the issue of increased costs, particularly player wages.

The ISL clubs spend up to 70 per cent of their annual budgets on player salaries. The league has a salary cap of Rs 16.5 crore, but it is an open secret that the clubs spend much more to remain competitive. And given the dearth of top-quality homegrown players, the India internationals take home upwards of a crore per year. High wages are seen as the primary reason for the heavy losses the clubs endure year-on-year, making it unsustainable in the long term.

A club official said the player contracts were agreed upon when the ISL had a broadcast deal of Rs 275 crore per season, a portion of which went to each franchise. However, as there is no deal in place for the upcoming season, the clubs are staring at a big hole in their pockets, especially since they also have to contribute to central operations and pay franchise fees.

It is learnt that at least three clubs have asked their players, who earn more than Rs 1 crore per season, to take a pay cut of 20-25 per cent. Those earning less than that are staring at a cut of 10-15 per cent.

The Indian Express understands that half a dozen clubs were also ready to ‘swallow the bitter pill by not having a league this season, cancel player contracts and start from scratch next season by bringing the salaries under control’. However, not all clubs were on board with the idea.

Even the Sports Minister urged the clubs and the AIFF to conduct the league. Mandaviya is believed to have told them that at a time when India is hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games and bidding for the 2036 Olympics, the inability to conduct a domestic football season would send a wrong message internationally.

“When the Minister said that any FIFA sanction or warning could affect the Olympic Games bids, it became a bigger issue, and the clubs agreed to play,” a source said.

The government, AIFF and clubs decided that the players would be ‘requested’ to agree to a salary cut. The clubs cannot arbitrarily reduce or halt wages, as it could lead to sanctions from FIFA if a player approached them.

Parth Jindal, the owner of domestic heavyweights Bengaluru FC, said in a post on X on Wednesday morning: “(sic) Tremendous sacrifice from all clubs is being asked for to play the ISL in its current format. The 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 the players understand the additional financial burden on the clubs and agree to also sacrifice as we are all in this together.”

Jindal added that Bengaluru FC “has been a loss-making proposition for all since I can remember – this year’s numbers, without the players helping out, will force many to shut shop for good.”