It appears a 12th-place finish was the extent of Leicester City’s ambitions at the start of last season.
The Foxes were favourites to be relegated, but somehow upset all the odds to win the Premier League title.
And while it’s impossible to put a price on the experience of winning the league, we have to imagine that the Leicester players are the first of the modern era not to be properly financially rewarded for their victory.
Leicester City have won the Premier League. The biggest sporting shock of my lifetime, and it's only my team.
— Gary Lineker (@GaryLineker) May 2, 2016
At the beginning of each season, as an extra financial incentive, a club agrees on a bonus structure with their squad. Each position higher up the table a team finish brings an extra financial reward for a player.
Accolades such as winning the league, or qualifying for the Champions League, brings further financial rewards.
However, in Leicester City’s case, the squad weren’t given any extra financial reward for heroics.
According to ESPN’s Tony Evans:
“There is an undercurrent of dissatisfaction at the King Power. Many of the heroes of the title-winning side feel they should have been better rewarded for winning the league. Leicester’s bonus system didn’t account for the possibility of the team topping the table; the end-of-season payout was set on expectations of a 12th-place finish.”
The bonus structure further emphasises how improbable Leicester’s title victory was, and that avoiding relegation was their only aim this time 12 months ago.
According to The Daily Mail, a financial pot of £6.5m was shared amongst the players, on a proportional basis depending on the players’ matchday appearances.
We doubt the Foxes’ players lost any sleep over missing out on a larger financial windfall, as it’s impossible to put a price on their stunning title victory. However, we’re sure they’ll have revamped bonus structure for the upcoming campaign.
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