England cricket legend Freddie Flintoff has been through a lot in recent years, including a sudden resignation following a dispute over pay
Harry Brent Senior Sports Writer
19:00, 30 Nov 2025
Freddie Flintoff has had a challenging few years(Image: PA)
Bullseye presenter Freddie Flintoff previously quit his cricket coaching job after being presented with what he believed was an unacceptably low salary offer.
The cricket icon’s life was dramatically upturned in 2022 when he survived a near-fatal car accident during Top Gear filming. In the three years since, he has focused on rebuilding his confidence, health and day-to-day stability.
In 2023, he took a major step forward when The Hundred side Northern Superchargers appointed him as their head coach. This role helped him re-establish his place in the sport he had spent decades shaping. But the optimism surrounding that opportunity soon faded after a frustrating episode.
Flintoff left the position last month because he was offered “a quarter” of the pay being earned by comparable head coaches. The 47-year-old said the offer made it obvious that the team did not truly value keeping him.
“I genuinely don’t do it for the money – although it’s nice – but I’m worth more than just over a quarter of the salary of other head coaches,” Flintoff said on the Beard Before Wicket podcast. “We have new owners and I spoke to them and said: ‘Yeah, fine, make us an offer.’
“I wasn’t encouraged they wanted me anyway, and you want to feel valued. So I said that it’s not going to work for me and they weren’t going to move on it.”
Despite leaving the Superchargers, Flintoff hasn’t left cricket In September 2024, he became the England Lions’ head coach – the national men’s second team – and he continues in that capacity.
Flintoff spent two years in charge of the Northern Superchargers(Image: ECB via Getty Images)
For Flintoff, these coaching positions served as emotional anchors as much as professional roles. He has openly acknowledged how difficult life became after the crash and his wife Rachael has said cricket had “saved” him during that turbulent time.
The incident – which occurred at Surrey’s Dunsfold Park Aerodrome in December 2022 – left him mentally shaken and unable to work as he recovered from his injuries. His earnings plummeted as a result, although a reported £9million payout from the BBC reduced any financial burden.
Flintoff – pictured here alongside Luke Littler – returned to TV as host of Bullseye this month(Image: ITV)
After nearly three years off television, Flintoff recently reappeared as host of ITV’s darts-theme game show Bullseye. Despite extensive on-screen experience – on Top Gear, A League of Their Own and BBC Radio – he admitted feeling “anxious” about returning.
“Even going through the walkthrough [for Bullseye], looking on the screen and seeing myself… I’m just trying to find my feet again,” he said in ‘Flintoff’, the Disney+ documentary released earlier this year.
This series, which follows a previous Christmas special, keeps the classic format of the original 1980s Jim Bowen-hosted show. It includes professional darts stars like current world champion Luke Littler and Stephen Bunting.
