A former England international received a mammoth 680% wage increase by accidental after an almighty gaffe by a club chairman.
Seth Johnson made a total of 121 appearances in the Premier League for both Derby County and Leeds United, scoring five goals and registering 14 assists.
He came through the ranks at Crewe Alexandra before joining Derby in 1999 and playing 73 times in the top flight.
In 2001, Leeds forked out a reported £7 million to sign Johnson, a one-cap England international, but the contract negotiations are said to have exposed how badly the Yorkshire outfit were being run at the time.
The central midfielder was reported to have been on around £5,000-a-week at Derby and told his agent that his wage demands for the Leeds switch were £13,000-a-week.
Legend has it that in a meeting with Johnson’s agent, Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale, told him: “I’ve had a shocking week, and the best I can offer you is £30,000 a week”.
Ridsdale is then said to have misread the reaction from the agent and upped his offer to £37,000-a-week, a salary which made him the second-highest paid player in the league.
Ridsdale has disputed that Johnson earned wages that high, apparently claiming he was on “at least £10,000-a-week less”.
Leeds were at the top of the league when they signed Johnson but their financial troubles spiralled out of control.
Johnson was plagued by injuries to the point where he only played 53 times in four years but it was also reported that they couldn’t afford to play him due to a clause in his contract which stipulated they had to pay Derby £250,000 for every 15 appearances he made.
Johnson has his say on the Leeds contract rumours
In an interview with Planet Football, Johnson addressed the infamous tale surrounding his move to Leeds and claimed he wasn’t present for any contract talks and only found out from his agent.
He also stressed that money was not an important factor for him.
Seth Johnson poses with Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale on the Elland Road pitch after signing. Image: Getty
“When they talk about negotiations for the contract, I wasn’t even there,” he said as per The Mirror.
“The contract had nothing to do with me.
“I remember being at home when it got sorted. I’d agreed to go, but my agent rung me up and told me about the deal.
“It wasn’t motivated by money for me. I’d had a good couple of years at Derby and just signed a new deal so I was on decent money anyway, but Derby were bottom of the league at the time, Leeds were near the top, I knew a lot of the lads there, and Derby decided to sell me because they wanted the money.”
Johnson returned to Derby on a free transfer and helped them return to the Premier League with victory in the 2007 play-off final before retiring from football at the age of 28 due to persistent knee problems.
