Newcastle to pay players bonuses if they qualify for Europe

According to information obtained by David Ornstein of The Athletic ($), the board of Newcastle has already added some cash bonuses to the contracts of the first-team players to be paid if the team qualify for an European competition.

Ornstein revealed on a note posted on Monday, April 24, that “many members of Newcastle’s squad would benefit financially from playing in Europe.” That is related to the PFI owners having included clauses “which include salary increases for competing in the Champions League or Europa League.”

That last bit of info is important, as it straight rules out any sort of bonus getting paid for qualification for the Conference League. Newcastle, however, are currently sitting third in the Premier League table and six points above fifth-place Tottenham with a game in hand.

The journalist informed that whereas some clubs include an automatic 20 or 25 percent increase for playing in Europe, Newcastle are using a different model working on a “case-by-case basis.”

According to Ornstein, Newcastle players and board agreed a grand total “annual bonus sheet” at the start of the season. From that point on, depending on the team’s final position in the table and other achievements (like winning cups) “incentives for the squad and staff” are paid in accordance during the campaign.

This contrasts with Mike Ashley’s tenure, as Newcastle is now “attempting to reward success rather than just avoiding failure,” quite the departure is a departure from the old reign of terror established and imposided by Mikey, which focused mostly on “prioritising relegation penalties in contracts,” in order to keep players and coaches scared and fearing the worst possible outcome instead of boosting their chances by giving them something to go for, instead of taking it all from them in the even of catastrophe.

Now, go get that extra cash, lads!