Criteria for determining the status of a football player according to Art. 2 of the FIFA Reglament on status and transfers of players indicate only the need to identify (1) the fact of a written agreement and (2) the conditions for payment of the athlete’s services in an amount exceeding the compensation of expenses incurred as a result of professional activities for the club. A study by the authors of the second criterion, which the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) sometimes calls “primary”, allows us to identify several standard situations related to establishing the status of a football player. Firstly, when the club and the player conclude one agreement, including the obligation under certain conditions (or the intention, without specifying conditions) to subsequently conclude an employment contract. Secondly, the norms of national law and order (football association, football association, football union, and similar non-profit organizations) may interfere with the application of the payment criteria for player’s services, indicating a minimum wage for a professional player, below which contracts by clubs and professionals cannot be concluded. Thirdly, a fixed or dynamically increasing amount of compensation for expenses may be agreed upon in the contract. Fourth, when in addition to compensation in a certain amount, a player is assigned a certain content (for example, paid monthly). Fifthly, the player was paid amounts “slightly” exceeding the compensation of his actual expenses. Sixth, if a player is paid bonuses for a specific sports result (for example, goals scored).