7 Salaries: Former Orlando Pirates midfielder reveals career payments

Morton shared his base salaries from Orlando Pirates, Maritzburg United, SuperSport United, AmaZulu, Cape Moya, Cape All Stars and Cape Town Spurs.

MICHAEL MORTON STARTED ON R20,000 AT ORLANDO PIRATES

Morton began his professional career at Orlando Pirates during the 2008/09 season. At just 19, he signed a three-year deal worth R20,000 per month.

“Nobody in South African football has ever done this before. I’m about to show you every single contract I signed in my 17 years as a professional footballer,” Morton said on X.

He said the salary changed his life. “That money really set me up nicely,” Morton explained. He used it to buy his first apartment and a used Peugeot 206 for R60,000 cash.

After loan spells at Wits, Morton joined Maritzburg United in 2010. His salary increased to the R30,000 range. He then signed a pre-contract with SuperSport United. His monthly salary jumped into the R60,000 range.

Morton’s biggest payday followed his move to AmaZulu. He revealed that he earned in the R80,000 range, making it the most lucrative contract of his career.

“This was actually my most lucrative contract of my career,” he said.

COVID-19 FORCED MORTON TO TAKE A CUT

The COVID-19 pandemic hit just as Morton became a free agent. He eventually joined Cape Moya in the NFD. His salary dropped from the R80,000 range to R30,000.

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Morton described it as a 67% pay cut. “That was a bit of a shock going from the highest I was earning in my career back to square one,” he said.

He then earned R30,000 at Cape All Stars before joining Cape Town Spurs on the same salary. However, Morton negotiated a promotion clause. When Cape Town Spurs won promotion, his salary doubled from R30,000 to R60,000.

The club immediately returned to the NFD after relegation. Morton’s salary dropped back to R30,000. He played a few more matches before retiring.

Morton stressed that his figures cover base salaries only. They exclude bonuses, signing-on fees and image rights.

“These are pretty accurate estimates, not done to the exact Rand,” he said. “It’ll give you a pretty good idea of what I earned over the course of my career,” he said.