Every Premier League Club Ranked by Their Wage Bill
Every Premier League club’s wage bill has been revealed and, unsurprisingly, there’s a gaping chasm between those at the top – namely one half of the Manchester-based duo – and the lowest-paying teams such as Burnley and Brentford.
There is so much money involved in the world of football in the modern day that fans would be forgiven for thinking every top-flight team has endless amounts of cash to pay their playing staff. While some clubs do spend huge amounts on their wage bill, others have a much lower ceiling when it comes to finances.
Many of the figures in question are bordering on astronomical, and they are only set to rise further due to the growing influence and competition posed by the wealth of the Saudi Pro League. Top players in England are looking for a pay rise, or considering moves to the Middle East for the lucrative contracts being handed out in that part of the world.
With that being said, very little sympathy can be felt for Premier League clubs that have almost taken over Europe in terms of financial power. Clubs that are seen as historically and traditionally bigger find themselves towards the top of the list, while the sides that have become Premier League sides in the more recent past are struggling to keep up.
With the 2025/26 season heading toward its conclusion, the wage bills for each club come via SalaryLeaks. In the case of some clubs, there is limited data out there, meaning some of the figures given are estimates. We’ve taken a look at the annual wage bills of each Premier League club in order from lowest to highest.
20 Wolverhampton Wanderers – £65,100,000
Jorgen Strand Larsen in action for Wolverhampton Wanderers
Despite being tipped for a season of struggle last year, Wolverhampton Wanderers were invigorated by the arrival of Vitor Pereira. He kept them up, but things took a turn for the worse this season. They haven’t been the same since the loss of Matheus Cunha, and even Rob Edwards’ arrival has not been able to prevent the Old Gold from relegation.
At the very least, they have the lowest wage bill in the league, which should help financials as they adjust to life in the Championship. Celebrated midfielder Joao Gomes stands tall as the highest earner at Molineux. They also managed to trim their wage bill in January, as Jorgen Stran Larsen and Emmanuel Agbadou departed for Crystal Palace and Besiktas.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Joao Gomes
£5,200,000
Hee-chan Hwang
£3,900,000
Toti Gomes
£3,900,000
Marshall Munetsi
£3,600,000
Jackson Tchatchoua
£3,100,000
19 Brentford – £71,000,000
MixCollage-29-Aug-2025-05-03-PM-6325
If anything truly highlights the excellent job that Brentford’s well-drilled recruitment team have done – and continue to do on a year-by-year basis – at the London-based club, it’s that they have the second-lowest wage bill of any club in the top tier, yet the Bees continue to operate above their pay grade and remain a solid, and competitive, side in the division.
With the departure of talismanic forward Bryan Mbeumo, things were expected to be a little trickier for the club going forward, but they’ve only improved under Keith Andrews. Indeed, they might even be playing in Europe next season.
If they continue to do so, it’s only another testament to how impressive the recruitment has been in recent years. That said, Aaron Hickey and Reiss Nelson are among the capital side’s highest-paid players despite not being their most influential stars. Igor Thiago, Jordan Henderson and Mikel Damsgaard are also in the Bees’ top five earners.
Brentford’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Igor Thiago
£3,900,000
Reiss Nelson
£3,900,000
Mikel Damsgaard
£3,900,000
Jordan Henderson
£3,900,000
Aaron Hickey
£3,700,000
18 Burnley – £72,700,000
Scott Parker Kyle Walker Burnley
Burnley, after their automatic progression back to the promised land, are still hoping Scott Parker’s tactics and their concoction of experience and youth will see them retain their status as an English top-flight outfit – but that seems very unlikely at this stage. They’re having to do so with the third-lowest wage bill in the division, so it’s not a massive surprise that Parker’s side have struggled to compete.
In terms of which Clarets player lines their pockets with the most money, it should come as no surprise that Kyle Walker, a six-time Premier League winner, is one of the highest-paid players at Turf Moor. But the English right-back, who is widely viewed as one of the greatest defenders in the history of the division, currently trails behind James Ward-Prowse for annual earnings.
Burnley’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
James Ward-Prowse
£5,200,000
Kyle Walker
£3,600,000
Loum Tchaouna
£3,100,000
Josh Cullen
£2,900,000
Jaidon Anthony
£2,600,000
17 Sunderland – £77,500,000
granit xhaka
Sunderland look certain to survive the drop back down to England’s second tier – and that’s largely thanks to the brilliant transfer activity overseen by Regis Le Bris and Co. As a means of rubbing shoulders with the best, the Black Cats – who won the play-off final against Sheffield United – scoured the summer transfer window for as much experience as possible, as evidenced by the arrivals of Granit Xhaka, Nodri Mukiele and Brian Brobbey.
It’s no surprise to see the aforementioned triumvirate of stars among the club’s biggest earners. Swiss midfielder Xhaka, who played much of his career in north London for Arsenal, earns £5,700,000, which is £1 million more than Mukiele. Lutsharel Geertruida, who has joined the English club on a temporary basis, is earning £4,000,000 per year – which is just more than striker Brobbey and impressive midfielder Enzo Le Fee.
Sunderland’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Granit Xhaka
£5,700,000
Nordi Mukiele
£4,700,000
Lutsharel Geertruida
£4,000,000
Brian Brobbey
£3,900,000
Enzo Le Fee
£3,900,000
16 Brighton & Hove Albion – £77,600,000
Kaoru Mitoma in action for Brighton
As is the case with Brentford, plenty of credit has to go to Brighton & Hove Albion – and in particular, their recruitment genius over the years – for the enviable manner in which the football club has been run from top to bottom over the years. With manager Fabian Hurzeler at the helm, the German tactician’s spell been promising, but there have been some bumps in the road along the way.
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With a very young squad in general, the Seagulls do not have many high earners on the books in comparison to other sides, and top of their list is full-back Ferdi Kadioglu. The Turkish defender joined from Fenerbahce in 2024 and immediately became the highest earner on the coast. Other big earners in the team include Kaoru Mitoma, Lewis Dunk and former Leeds United talisman Georginio Rutter. Pascal Gross, who recently returned to Brighton in January, completes the top five.
Brighton & Hove Albion’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Ferdi Kadioglu
£4,600,000
Lewis Dunk
£4,400,000
Kaoru Mitoma
£4,200,000
Georginio Rutter
£4,200,000
Pascal Gross
£3,600,000
15 Leeds United – ££77,800,000
Daniel Farke
Daniel Farke and Leeds United are looking to stay afloat come May 2026 and, with five games to go, sitting eight points clear, most would bet on them achieving their goal. Back in the big time after storming the Championship, things have gone relatively well, as Farke’s men look likely to avoid the drop. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, earning over £6 million, has paid the club back with his fine goal-scoring efforts this term.
The Elland Road outfit are also shelling out handsome sums to Jack Harrison (£4,700,000) and Sean Longstaff (£4,200,000). Daniel James and Noah Okafor both get paid upwards of £3,700,000 too.
Leeds United’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
£6,200,000
Jack Harrison
£4,700,000
Sean Longstaff
£4,200,000
Daniel James
£3,900,000
Noah Okafor
£3,700,000
14 Bournemouth – £80,600,000
Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola watching on from the touchline
There’s been plenty of change at Bournemouth over the last few years. The arrival of Andoni Iraola marked a real act of ambition from the club, and they exceeded expectations during his debut season in England. Complicating matters on the pitch, the club lost their star forward, Dominic Solanke, to Tottenham Hotspur in the summer of 2023, but it did, in turn, slash a large chunk from their wage bill.
Matters have repeated once again in 2025/26 following the departures of Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi, but they still have several high earners in the squad, such as Justin Kluivert, son of footballing icon Patrick, Ryan Christie, and Evanilson. Antoine Semenyo, who earned £3,900,000 on an annual basis, has been shifted from the wage bill. In comparison to their fellow Premier League sides, they still boast a small wage bill.
Bournemouth’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Evanlison
£4,200,000
Justin Kluivert
£4,200,000
Ryan Christie
£3,600,000
David Brooks
£3,600,000
Amine Adli
£3,600,000
13 Fulham – £89,300,000
Fulham boss Marco Silva watching on from the dugout
Having lost their out-and-out talisman, Aleksandar Mitrovic, to the riches of the Saudi Pro League in the summer of 2023, Fulham have still managed to outperform expectations in the seasons to follow by finishing comfortably in the Premier League. That’s because boss Marco Silva has put together a solid squad capable of avoiding any form of relegation battle, and he’s done so with an average payroll.
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Former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno is the top earner at Craven Cottage, but Samuel Chukwueze, Raul Jimenez, Alex Iwobi and Joachim Andersen also all take home quite a pretty penny. With two of their top earners being former Arsenal players, it’s worth noting that Emile Smith Rowe, whose Fulham is yet to take off, also makes £3,100,000 as the club’s joint 11th best-paid player.
Fulham’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Bernd Leno
£6,300,000
Samuel Chukwueze
£6,200,000
Raul Jimenez
£5,200,000
Joachim Andersen
£4,700,000
Alex Iwobi
£4,200,000
12 Everton – £95,600,000
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford cheering
While Brighton and Brentford are often praised for being very well-run clubs that punch well above their weight from a financial standpoint, Everton, now managed by the seasoned David Moyes, are almost the complete opposite given how much they’ve struggled in seasons gone by. Their high wage expenditure hasn’t translated into success on the pitch in recent years, though.
This has at least been the case for as long as fans can remember, but they’ve slowly started to trim their payroll with players such as Amadou Onana and Andre Gomes, who were on huge wages, leaving them in the summer of 2024. And form on the pitch has also improved of late.
The club had been dragged into relegation battles for a few straight seasons now, but now look set for a top-half finish with European football even on the cards. This form is buoyed by Jordan Pickford and Jarrad Branthwaite, who earn £7,800,000 and £6,200,000, respectively. As such, the two are among the highest earners from a permanent fixture perspective on the blue half of Merseyside. Jack Grealish, on loan from Manchester City, pockets a whopping £11,700,000.
Everton’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Jack Grealish
£11,700,000
Jordan Pickford
£7,800,000
Idrissa Gueye
£6,300,000
Jarrad Branthwaite
£6,200,000
James Tarkowski
£6,200,000
11 Crystal Palace – £95,800,000
Crystal Palace striker Jean-Philippe Mateta
Not least thanks to last season’s FA Cup win, a resurgent Crystal Palace side turned their form around following Oliver Glasner’s arrival, with Michael Olise (who left in 2024) and Eberechi Eze being the main catalysts. Both were among the side’s highest earners, but each of them has now moved on to Bayern Munich and Arsenal, respectively.
Daichi Kamada has now filled the slot of the club’s highest-paid player, an honour he shares with three other players. Eddie Nketiah and Dean Henderson also earn £5,200,000 a year, as does new signing Jorgen Strand Larsen. The Norwegian’s arrival, along with the signing of Evann Guessand, has significantly lifted Palace’s total expenditure.
Crystal Palace’s Five Highest Earners
Player
Annual Wage
Jorgen Strand Larsen
£5,200,000
Daichi Kamada
£5,200,000
Dean Henderson
£5,200,000
Eddie Nketiah
£5,200,000
Yeremy Pino
£4,700,000