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 English top-flight sides in the more recent past are struggling to keep up.

With the 2026/27 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 Coventry City – £42,000,000

One of the Premier League’s newcomers, Coventry City, will be hoping they aren’t at the bottom of the proper table at the end of the 2026-27 season. Frank Lampard’s Sky Blues won the EFL Championship emphatically with a point tally of 95.

The West Midlands outfit head into the campaign with the lowest wage bill but could rise up the rankings once the transfer window closes. They haven’t been afraid to splash the cash, including on Carl Rushworth, who has returned to the club permanently after a superb loan spell.

19 Hull City – £52,900,000

Hull City

Unsurprisingly, Hull City join Coventry in the bottom three for the lowest wage bills, but they too have been busy trying to strengthen Sergej Jakirovic’s squad. That includes breaking their transfer record to sign Nobel Mendy from Rayo Vallecano, who follows the likes of Jack Butland and Matt Targett, two of their highest earners, to MKM Stadium.

While the Tigers are favourites to be relegated, they will be hoping for another underdog story much like that of their 2008-09 survival. Their higher-ups will quickly learn the financial demands of Premier League football, which puts pressure on them to keep their top players happy.

18 Brentford – £65,600,000

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 how they balance the books. The Bees have been punching way above their weight since arriving in the top flight, and a ninth-placed finish last season saw them finish above Chelsea.

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 nearly achieved European qualification for the first time in their history.

If they continue to do so, it’s only another testament to how impressive the recruitment has been in recent years. That said, they are starting to flex their financial muscles, with club record signing Mamadou Sangare joining Igor Thiago and Mikkel Damsgaard among their top earners.

17 Ipswich Town – £66,200,000

Just ahead of the bottom three are Ipswich Town, who still have 10 core first-team players from their 2024-25 Premier League campaign at the club. The Tractor Boys will be eager to stay in the top flight on this occasion and will look to do so under new manager Gary O’Neil.

All of their five top earners have arrived at Portman Road this summer, including World Cup winner Exequiel Palacios, who joined from Bayer Leverkusen. It’s a huge statement of their intentions to beat the drop, and their wage bill could increase further should they look to add further reinforcements before deadline day and in January.

16 Brighton & Hove Albion – £80,800,000

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 has seen the Seagulls earn a place in the UEFA Conference League.

With a very young squad in general, the south coast outfit 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 new boy Pascal Struijk, who arrived from Leeds United.

15 Sunderland – £81,700,000

Sunderland didn’t just survive the drop last season; they booked their place in the Europa League, 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 spent big on the likes of Bundesliga champion Granit Xhaka and highly-rated Dutch striker Brian Brobbey, and it paid off

It’s no surprise to see the aforementioned duo 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 Nordi Mukiele. The Wearside outfit weren’t as busy this summer and that’s reflected in their wage bill.

14 Fulham – £82,100,000

Having lost their long-serving manager Marco Silva to Benfica, Fulham find themselves under new management for the first time in five years. Alvaro Arbeloa has taken the reins after a brief spell in charge at Real Madrid and he’s brought several players with him.

The Cottagers have forked out £40 million to sign Gonzalo Garcia, and on a salary of £4.2m per year, they will be desperate for him to fill the void left by Raul Jimenez. He’s not the highest earner at Craven Cottage, though, as former Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno tops their wage list.

Alex Iwobi is one of their highest-earning players and a main man. With two of their top earners being former Arsenal players, it’s worth noting that Emile Smith Rowe, whose Fulham career is yet to take off, also makes £3,100,000 as the club’s ninth best-paid player.

13 Crystal Palace – £82,200,000

Last season’s UEFA Conference League win hasn’t resulted in Crystal Palace rising up the wage ladder; in fact, it’s the opposite. They had previously been mid-table, paying their players £95,800,000, but they have slashed their wage bill by £30,800,000.

That’s largely down to the departures of Maxence Lacroix and Brennan Johnson, and the Eagles have been relatively quiet in this transfer window. New manager Pierre Sage still has several crucial first-team players who starred under predecessor Oliver Glasner.

Daichi Kamada is one of them, and he has displaced Jorgen Strand Larsen, Dean Henderson, and Eddie Nketiah as the highest-paid player at Selhurst Park (per Capology). New arrivals are inevitably on the list, with Ben Chilwell earning a handsome sum of money.

12 Everton – £84,900,000

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 since Moyes’ arrival.

The club had been dragged into relegation battles for a few straight seasons now, but finished a respectable 13th last season. 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, along with new signing Christian Norgaard.

11 Bournemouth – £85,200,000

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 have exceeded expectations during all his seasons in England. The Spaniard watched star players such as Antoine Semenyo and Dean Huijsen depart, and he followed suit to Liverpool at the end of last season.

Marco Rose arrived as Iraola’s successor, and he still has several high earners in his squad, such as Justin Kluivert, son of footballing icon Patrick, Ryan Christie, and Evanilson. Antoine Semenyo, who earned £3,900,000 annually, has been removed from the wage bill. Compared with their fellow Premier League sides, they still boast a relatively small wage bill.