EFL Championship 2025/26 Wage Bills: Highest and Lowest Spending Clubs

The English Championship stands alone as the most expensive second-tier league in world football.

While other countries might boast stronger secondary divisions in terms of quality, none can match the sheer financial muscle flowing through England’s 24-team battleground just below the Premier League.

The numbers tell a compelling story.

Three clubs relegated from the top flight last season, Southampton, Leicester City, and Ipswich Town, continue to dwarf their competitors in spending power. Even after implementing the standard wage cuts that follow relegation, these sides maintain budgets that would make many top-flight teams across Europe envious.

The financial landscape of the Championship creates a fascinating dynamic.

Parachute payments from Premier League broadcasting revenue give recently relegated clubs a massive head start. Meanwhile, ambitious owners and promotion-chasing veterans try to bridge that gap through smart recruitment and tactical nous.

Championship Wage Bills 2025/26 (Estimated)

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The wage bill rankings for the 2025/26 season reveal the stark contrasts within the division. Southampton leads the way with a squad wage bill of £32.7 million, translating to an average player salary of £22,400 per week.

Leicester City sits just behind at £31.8 million total, though their average weekly wage actually edges higher at £22,700 per player.

Ipswich Town completes the relegated trio in third place with £26.1 million in total wages and an average of £18,600 per week.

The gap between Ipswich and fourth-placed Sheffield United already stretches to nearly £4 million, highlighting the advantage of the parachute payment.

Sheffield United, themselves a relegated side from the previous season, maintains a £22.5 million wage bill, with players averaging £14,900 per week. West Brom rounds out the top five at £21.4 million, paying their squad an average of £17,200 per week.

Birmingham City has emerged as a significant spender under new ownership, sitting sixth with £19.6 million in wages and an average of £14,500 per week.

Hull City follows at £19.1 million, while Norwich City and Middlesbrough complete the top tier of spenders at £18.4 million and £18.1 million respectively.

The middle tier shows remarkable consistency. Stoke City, Watford, and the surprising presence of Wrexham all hover around the £17 million mark.

Wrexham’s Hollywood-backed project has propelled them into the upper echelons of Championship spending despite their recent ascent from League Two, though their average weekly wage of £9,800 remains modest compared to the relegated giants.

QPR, Coventry City, Swansea City, and Preston cluster in the £13-15 million range, representing the typical Championship establishment clubs. These teams operate with careful planning, knowing they face an uphill battle against better-funded rivals while trying to avoid the financial pitfalls that have claimed so many clubs in this division.

Bristol City, Oxford United, Derby County, and Blackburn Rovers sit in the £12-13 million bracket.

At the bottom, Charlton Athletic manages £10.3 million, Portsmouth £9.8 million, and Sheffield Wednesday brings up the rear at just £7.8 million with an average weekly wage of only £5,500.

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Understanding the Championship Salary Structure

Key Championship Statistics:

• Average player salary: £10,500 per week
• League position: Similar to Eredivisie and Turkish Super Lig
• Comparison: Higher than Belgian, Austrian, Swiss, and Polish top flights

The average player salary across the Championship for 2025/26 sits around £10,500 per week.

This places the division on a similar footing with respected European leagues like the Eredivisie and the Turkish Super Lig, while surpassing the Belgian, Austrian, Swiss, and Polish top flights.

This represents a steady upward trajectory over the past two decades.

The Championship has evolved from a financially precarious second tier into a league where clubs routinely spend tens of millions chasing the Premier League dream.

Television money has filtered down, wealthy owners have arrived with grand ambitions, and the prize for promotion has grown so enormous that rational spending often goes out the window.

The gap between top and bottom remains vast. Southampton’s £22,400 average weekly wage dwarfs Sheffield Wednesday’s £5,500 figure by more than four times.

A Southampton reserve player likely earns more sitting on the bench than a Wednesday starter does playing every week.

How Relegation Reshapes Wage Structures

The mechanics of relegation clauses in player contracts have become standard practice across English football. Most Premier League players sign deals containing automatic wage reductions of 30-50% if their club drops into the Championship.

These protective measures serve both club and player interests, though in different ways.

Standard Relegation Wage Reduction:

• Typical reduction: 30-50% of Premier League wages
• Automatic clauses in most contracts
• Works in reverse for promotion

For clubs, relegation clauses provide essential financial breathing room. Dropping from the Premier League typically means losing around £100 million in annual revenue.

Without corresponding wage cuts, clubs would face insolvency within months. The parachute payments help cushion the blow, but they cannot fully replace Premier League income.

For players, these clauses create certainty. Rather than facing contract terminations or prolonged disputes, they know exactly where they stand financially if relegation occurs.

The alternative would be chaos—clubs desperately trying to offload players they can no longer afford, and agents scrambling to find new homes for their clients.

The system works in reverse as well. Championship players signed by promotion-chasing clubs often include automatic wage increases written into their contracts.

If the club reaches the Premier League, these players see their salaries jump to reflect top-flight standards. This protects players from being underpaid relative to the division they compete in, while giving clubs flexibility in managing their wage structure based on league status.

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Historical Examples of Wage Reductions

Hull City (2015 Relegation):

• Wage reduction: 40-50% through automatic clauses
• Publicly confirmed by the club and players
• Set precedent for future relegation planning

Study of 52 Relegated Clubs (2005-2022):

• Average wage bill reduction: 28% in the first Championship season
• Factors: Contractual cuts + player sales
• Driven by a massive revenue drop despite parachute payments

Historical examples demonstrate how dramatically wages can shift.

When Hull City dropped from the Premier League in 2015, players saw their wages reduced by 40-50% through pre-agreed clauses. The club confirmed these arrangements publicly, and several players spoke about the financial reality of relegation.

A comprehensive study of clubs relegated between 2005 and 2022 found that among 52 relegated teams, the average wage bill reduction in the first Championship season reached 28%.

This figure accounts for both contractual wage cuts and the inevitable departures of high earners who refuse to play at reduced rates or attract offers from Premier League clubs looking to capitalise on bargain opportunities.

The Financial Chasm Between Divisions

Wage Gap: Premier League vs Championship

The numbers that separate the Premier League from the Championship boggle the mind. Average weekly wages in the top flight now exceed £60,000, roughly six times the Championship average.

The highest earners in the Premier League command salaries above £300,000 per week, while Championship top earners typically max out around £30,000-£45,000 weekly.

Financial Reality Check:

• Lowest Premier League team: £100+ million in annual revenue
• Championship winner: A Fraction of that amount
• Revenue gap drives wage disparity
• Playoff final: One of the world’s richest single matches

Even the lowest-finishing Premier League team receives over £100 million in prize money and broadcasting revenue. Championship winners earn a fraction of that amount, though the playoff final has famously been called the richest game in football due to the financial windfall that accompanies promotion.

This disparity shapes every decision Championship clubs make.

Wage caps become necessary survival tools. Sheffield Wednesday, for instance, refuses to pay any player more than £12,000 per week. This conservative approach protects the club’s long-term viability but makes competing with wealthier rivals extremely difficult.

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What the Numbers Mean for Competition

Southampton and Leicester City entered the 2025/26 season as overwhelming promotion favourites based on their wage bills alone. Both clubs retained core groups of Premier League players despite relegation, supplemented by strategic signings and loan additions.

Their spending power allows them to dominate transfer windows and outbid rivals for the best available talent.

Ipswich Town faces a similar scenario, though their wage bill sits notably below the top two. Still, at £26.1 million, they possess resources that most Championship clubs can only dream about accessing.

Spending Tiers in the Championship:

Elite Spenders (£25m+): Southampton, Leicester, Ipswich

• Parachute payment advantage
• Retained Premier League players
• Promotion favorites

Major Players (£18m-£22m): Sheffield United, West Brom, Birmingham, Hull, Norwich, Middlesbrough

• Competitive budgets
• Mix of ambition and reality
• Playoff contenders

Established Middle (£13m-£17m): Stoke, Watford, Wrexham, QPR, Coventry, Swansea, Preston, Millwall

• Sustainable models
• Occasional playoff pushes
• Smart recruitment essential

Lower Tier (Under £13m): Bristol City, Oxford, Derby, Blackburn, Charlton, Portsmouth, Sheffield Wednesday

• Survival focus
• Youth development crucial
• Budget constraints limit ambitions

The chasing pack—Sheffield United, West Brom, Birmingham City—must find ways to punch above their financial weight.

Smart coaching, tactical innovation, and excellent recruitment become essential when competing against clubs with superior budgets. These teams live in the uncomfortable middle ground, too expensive to operate conservatively but not wealthy enough to match the relegated giants.

For clubs in the bottom half of the wage table, survival represents success. Building sustainable models, developing young talent, and occasionally catching lightning in a bottle with an inspired season – these become the realistic goals.

The playoff places remain theoretically achievable, but mounting a genuine promotion challenge requires either extraordinary management or a significant change in ownership and investment.

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The Wrexham Factor

Wrexham’s presence among the higher spenders marks one of the more intriguing developments in recent Championship history.

The Hollywood-owned club has climbed from the National League to the second tier in just a few seasons, backed by significant investment from Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney.

Their £16.8 million wage bill places them 12th overall, remarkable for a club that was playing non-league football so recently. Their average weekly wage of £9,800 suggests they have maintained some financial discipline despite their rapid ascent.

The club appears to be spending on squad depth rather than individual star salaries, a sensible approach for a newly promoted team finding its footing at this level.