Gary Mabbutt's got an MBE for 'services to football' and he got it in 1994 while he was still playing. So if that's the bar, I'd say Sol is hard done by.
It looks like you can't get above an OBE for 'services to football' without either winning the World Cup, being a legendary manager, or being a chairman. Any players with a CBE are almost always charity-related plus services to football.
Looking at
some of the people with an MBE or OBE who got it just for football, and I'd say Sol Campbell wouldn't be out of place among them. Robbie Earle? Jonny Evans? Barry Ferguson? Steven Gerrard? Harry Kane? Gary McAllister? Stuart Pearce? David Seaman? But then so would a million other players, so I'm not sure how they decide it.