NPFL: Reactions to NSC's N2m Player Salary Vary

The National Sports Commission has introduced a new minimum salary of N2m for players in the Nigeria Premier Football League. This decision has led to mixed feelings among stakeholders. Many are worried about whether club owners can afford this new salary structure, Saturday PUNCH reports.

The NSC announced this minimum wage along with a significant increase in prize money for the league. These changes aim to stop talented players from leaving for clubs abroad and to make the local league more competitive. The old minimum wage was N150,000.

Some players and former players see this move as a chance to raise the quality of the league. But others question if the NSC or the Nigeria Football Federation will assist clubs in meeting this new salary requirement.

Barrister Christopher Green, Rivers State Sports Commissioner and former NFF board member, also chairs Rivers United. He believes not all clubs can pay every player N2m a month without help from outside.

"Will the NSC or NFF be supporting the clubs? Because I don’t think all clubs can afford that new N2m minimum they said players in the league will now be getting," Green said.

He added, "If you want to pay a player N2m, the NSC should be able to give at least N100m to every club. If they are going to subsidise it, all well and good."

Green also pointed out a broken financial promise to show why he doubts the NSC can support this new policy. "This same NSC told me that they were going to give Rivers United N500m as representatives of Nigeria at the CAF Champions League last season, and we still have not gotten the money," he said.

Despite the concerns, some players support the reform. They believe it will help reduce the number of top talents leaving the league too soon. Plateau United striker Albert Hillary thinks this policy will help the NPFL compete better in Africa.

"It is really a good move because if you check the current situation with our league, we often lose our best players every end of season to other clubs, not even in Europe, but other African countries," Hillary said.

He added, "I think it will help in growing the league to a certain level where we will be able to compete on the continent, even beyond the Club World Cup."

A former NPFL player, who moved to the Middle East, spoke on the condition of anonymity. He believes the better pay will attract foreign players back to Nigeria and help local players plan financially.

"This is why some of us left. The pay was not just okay. But with this, the level will be raised, and we will have more players coming from abroad, like it used to be," he said.

He also mentioned, "Again, not all players will travel abroad. A pay like this will help players plan well before retirement, because there is more to life after football than the career itself."

The league board says the new club licensing rules will force clubs to meet the needed financial standards. The NSC is also moving forward with reforms that include a N1bn prize for next season’s league champions, up from the current N200m. The runners-up will get N800m and the third-placed team will receive N700m.

Enugu Rangers are the current NPFL champions, having won the 2025/2026 title, which is their ninth title in the league's history.