For the 2026/27 season, the latest available salary database puts the combined player wage bill

ANNUAL WAGE BILL: EVERY SCOTTISH PREMIERSHIP CLUB RANKED FROM HIGHEST TO LOWEST

The financial gap between Scotland’s biggest clubs and the rest of the Scottish Premiership is clearly reflected in their estimated annual wage bills. For the 2026/27 season, the latest available salary database puts the combined player wage bill for all 12 Premiership clubs at approximately £104.5 million.

Rank Club Estimated Annual Wage Bill

1 Celtic £34.8m
2 Rangers £27.2m
3 Aberdeen £9.1m
4 Hearts £8.9m
5 Hibernian £4.6m
6 Falkirk £4.2m
7 Kilmarnock £3.1m
8 St Johnstone £2.9m
9 Livingston £2.8m
10 Motherwell £2.6m
11 Dundee United £2.4m
12 St Mirren £1.9m

The figures above are from SalaryLeaks’ current 2026/27 Scottish Premiership salary database.

Celtic — £34.8m

Celtic sit at the top of the table with an estimated £34.8 million annual player wage bill. The figure reflects the club’s ability to operate with a significantly larger playing budget than most of the league. The database also identifies Kieran Tierney as Celtic’s highest-paid player at approximately £2.6 million per year.

Rangers — £27.2m

Rangers are second on approximately £27.2 million, meaning the two Glasgow giants account for a huge proportion of the league’s total player wages. Rangers’ highest-paid players include Youssef Chermiti and Lawrence Shankland, with the database putting each at around £1.6 million annually.

Aberdeen — £9.1m

Aberdeen are third with an estimated £9.1 million annual wage bill. That places them considerably below Celtic and Rangers but still above every other club outside the traditional Glasgow giants.

Hearts — £8.9m

Hearts follow closely behind Aberdeen at approximately £8.9 million. The Edinburgh club therefore has one of the largest wage budgets in the division, with the database recording several players on substantial salaries.

Hibernian — £4.6m

Hibernian’s estimated annual wage bill stands at £4.6 million. That is almost half of Aberdeen’s figure and demonstrates the sizeable financial gap between the top four clubs and the middle of the table.

Falkirk — £4.2m

Falkirk are listed at approximately £4.2 million. As one of the league’s promoted sides, their inclusion in the 2026/27 Premiership wage comparison provides an interesting picture of how their squad spending compares with established Premiership clubs.

Kilmarnock — £3.1m

Kilmarnock have an estimated £3.1 million annual wage bill, putting them seventh in the league-wide comparison.

St Johnstone — £2.9m

St Johnstone are next at approximately £2.9 million, narrowly ahead of Livingston.

Livingston — £2.8m

Livingston’s estimated player wage bill is £2.8 million. Their figure sits within a closely packed group of clubs spending between roughly £2 million and £3 million annually.

Motherwell — £2.6m

Motherwell are estimated to spend around £2.6 million per year on player wages. This places them tenth in the comparison.

Dundee United — £2.4m

Dundee United have an estimated annual wage bill of £2.4 million, according to the current database.

St Mirren — £1.9m

St Mirren complete the 12-club list with an estimated £1.9 million annual player wage bill. The difference between Celtic’s £34.8m and St Mirren’s £1.9m is approximately £32.9 million.

The bigger picture

The numbers show an enormous concentration of player wages at the top of Scottish football. Celtic and Rangers alone are listed at a combined £62 million, which is around 59% of the league’s reported £104.5 million total. The remaining ten clubs collectively account for approximately £42.5 million.

For comparison, another football salary database, FootyStats, also identifies Rangers and Celtic as the two highest-payroll clubs, although its figures differ because it only includes known salaries and uses a different methodology.

Important for your graphic: I would use the SalaryLeaks figures above if the purpose is to create one consistent 12-club 2026/27 annual-wage-bill graphic. Do not use the £12.7m Aberdeen figure shown twice in your original image—that figure does not match the latest 2026/27 database I found.