The Economic Importance of Professional Football Player Employment Contracts

Abstract

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) holds that sport is governed by EU law since it is an economic activity as defined by Article 2 of the Treaty. Given that football is a sport, football transfers have a significant impact on teams' bottom lines. The transfer market was a little unstable following the well-known Bosman verdict since clubs had started to demand hefty transfer fees for their highly valued assets. This article seeks to shed light on several issues concerning the transfer of football players, as well as the status of football players, the legal and economic influence to the football clubs financial well-being and their revenues they may have while operating as professional football clubs.