A day after the announcement from sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya that the Indian Super League (ISL) was to resume on February 14, there was a post on X, which spoke of the grim reality that Indian football now has to come to terms with.
Bengaluru FC owner Parth Jindal spoke of the sacrifices that club owners have had to make, just because of the disastrous consequences that would've followed if the ISL had been put on hold for this entire season.
"Football has been a loss making proposition for all since I can remember," Jindal said, after the 14 ISL clubs have given their consent to all participate in a league that, at the time of writing, still doesn't have a broadcaster or a commercial partner.
Tremendous sacrifice from all clubs is being asked for to play the ISL in its current format. Repercussions if we don't have a league are very worrying. Would like to take this opportunity to thank the honourable sports minister for his intervention and his proposal. Truly hope...
- Parth Jindal (@ParthJindal11) January 7, 2026
According to reports, the clubs will have to pay a Rs. 1 crore franchise fee to the AIFF, in addition to contributing a total of Rs. 14.56 crore between them for the league's operational costs. With the AIFF's contribution towards operational costs being Rs. 9.70 crore, they would actually turn in a profit, with the franchise fee from the 14 ISL clubs. The clubs are shouldering losses, amidst the uncertainty, with barely any sense of shared responsibility.
Yet, in this tug-of-war between the AIFF, FSDL and the ISL club owners, the biggest losers have been the players. There is core human issue of their livelihoods being at stake. Some of them hadn't received salaries because their clubs have suspended all first-team operations. But beyond that, as sportspersons, they have had nowhere to play. And that is the biggest tragedy of it all.
There were a few on social media who were quick to blame the players for being overpaid, with some even hinting that the players deserve this current scenario because of how much they have been overpaid over the last few years. In an interview with the Indian Express, Jindal even suggested that the open free market doesn't work in Indian football. He pointed to the 2023-24 season, when Bengaluru FC cut down on their spending, finished ninth, and still lost Rs. 20 crore. In that case, you might as well lose Rs. 30 crore and try to win, Jindal said.
FC Goa CEO Ravi Puskur and Kerala Blasters CEO Abhik Chatterjee told the Times of India that the players had to make some financial sacrifices too, since the clubs were making their share of sacrifices.
But that argument shouldn't hold. Don't blame the workers for demanding what the market felt was appropriate to pay them. That is the clubs' fault, that is the fault of the ISL itself. Remember, the ISL had a salary cap in place, at least on paper, ever since its inception. Clubs were still spending way beyond their means, as Jindal said. The comments from Puskur and Chatterjee too seemed to suggest that. The ISL salary bubble was just waiting to burst, and now the uncertainty over the league has become a convenient excuse to shift the conversation towards an issue the clubs created for themselves.
Clubs-mine included-have inflated player salaries irresponsibly.
We are outbidding each other for perception, knowing fully well it's unsustainable. Then we act shocked when these players fall flat on the international stage. WE built that illusion.- Ravi Puskur (@ravi_804) June 11, 2025
If agents and players were demanding unrealistic fees and wages, the clubs had the authority to refuse. Not many of them did. When the going became tough, the clubs have realised the extent of the monster that they have created.
The Times of India reported that the players from Mumbai City FC refused to take any wage cuts. They had contracts, they had made commitments on the basis of those contracts, and they wanted them honoured, the report said. FIFPRO, the world players' body, too has gotten involved, and told the ISL clubs to honour the contracts that have been signed.
It's important that the players protect their rights, like the Mumbai City FC players have done. Some clubs have already agreed that their players will take wage cuts, according to the Times of India, but it shouldn't become a long-term thing. This shouldn't be the norm. Not honouring contracts that have already been signed sets a dangerous precedent for the future.
At the end of the day, Indian football is in a mess that was of the AIFF's making, the clubs have played their part in the ecosystem becoming what it is today. The players and the fans are collateral damage and have had to bear the brunt of years of questionable decision-making.