Mark Bullingham: Bill Sweeney-style bonus nets FA chief £1.32m salary
The FA chief executive Mark Bullingham has become the highest-paid leader of a sports governing body after a £450,000 bonus took his income for last year to £1.32million.
Bullingham's earnings for the year ending July 2024 included a salary of £869,000 as well as the long-term incentive plan (LTIP) bonus. The total eclipses that of the RFU's chief executive, Bill Sweeney, whose earnings of £1.1million — made up of a £358,000 LTIP bonus on top of an increased salary of £742,000 — provoked a storm in rugby union.
The FA said last year's bonus reflected the organisation exceeding 'ambitious' performance targets over two years. That included financial targets as well as those on the pitch, with the England men's and women's teams reaching the finals of Euro 2024 and the 2023 World Cup respectively. Bullingham's pay the previous year was £850,000.
The FA's highest-paid employee is the England head coach, Thomas Tuchel, who receives about £5million a year. The Premier League chief executive, Richard Masters, earned £1.98million in its most recent financial year, but Bullingham, 50, is the highest-paid executive at an English national sports governing body.
The annual accounts, published on Companies House, state the FA 's remuneration committee 'considered financial achievements that saw the organisation exceed its [financial] target over the period and secure longer-term financial stability through England and FA Cup broadcast rights deals.
'Other achievements include senior men and women's tournament performance, the growth of the women's and girls' game and improvements to grassroots facilities were also recognised.'
Another £550,000 in LTIPs was paid to two other unnamed members of the FA's senior management team, the accounts reveal.
The FA's turnover rose to £551million from £482million, with £164million invested into the game. There is a new three-year LTIP plan in operation for August 2024 to July 2027 which has the potential to deliver similar or even greater bonuses.
An FA spokeswoman said Bullingham's remuneration was 'benchmarked extensively and independently by PriceWaterhouse Coopers'.
She added: 'It is performance-based — Mark has led the business to meet and exceed robust and ambitious performance targets on and off the pitch and deliver our 2020-2024 strategic objectives.
'The FA has a turnover of over £500million — equivalent to a FTSE 250 company — and is responsible for governing the national sport. To attract and retain high-calibre executives, the total remuneration package on offer needs to be competitive in the context of a leadership role in our market.
'In order to be competitive, the opportunity to earn a bonus and a long-term incentive plan are important — but payments are only made if performance targets are delivered or exceeded.'
Bullingham joined the FA in 2016 from Fuse Sports and Entertainment, having previously been director of marketing for sailing's America's Cup. He took over as chief executive in 2019.
Kieran Maguire, the football finance author and academic at the University of Liverpool, said: 'Mark Bullingham's bonus is presumably related to the FA's increased profitability and ability to run without third party debt. The success of the Lionesses and the men's team reaching the Euro 2024 final also appears to be a contributing factor.'
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