Average salaries in English football Since 1884 to 2026
Blackburn Rovers's 1885 accounts show that they spent total of £615 on playere wages during 1885-86 season. Their two star players James Forrest and Joseph Lofthouse were on £1 per week salary. by 1888, Everton's Nick Ross who transfered from Preston North End was earning £2.5 per week which at that time was twice the average wage in English football. By 1890, top clubs at that time were already paying their best players £5 per week which resulted in other clubs complaining about fair-play.
Maximum Wage Rule:
1893 Derby Country suggested to English FA, that there should be maximum wage for footballers salaries. It was suggested that it should be capped to only £4 a week maximum. Most players at that time were semi-professionals and were earning no way near £4 a week so they did not protest about the rule. This maximum wage rule was implemented nationwide by 1895. However, that kind of back fired as players started to play for southern league teams where there was no restriction on max wages. Some big name players in 1900's decided to make a players union known as Association Footballers' Union (AFU). It was represented by players from clubs like Manchester United, Man City, Newcastle, Tottenham, West Brom, Bradford to name a few. AFU encouraged players to boycott/strike against FA and maximum wage rule which resulted in FA banning players who took part in the strikes.
FA kept the max wage rule but increased it after every few years. By end world war 1, FA had increased max weekly wage to £10 per week. By 1945 it stayed at similar numbers and by 1930 FA also introduced minimum wage for players over 20 which was set to £7 per week. By max wage was increased repeatedly during 1950s. It was set o £14 (1951), £15 (1953), £17 (1957) and £20 (1958).
1960s rapid rise in average footballer's salaries in England:
The next major development is football player wages came in 1960, when players demanded higher wages and FA had to remove that max wage rule. Average salaries in english top division rose rapidly over the 1960s and below you can find year by year details on average weekly salaries and highest paid players in different seasons of English top division history.
| Year | Average Weekly Salary | Highest Paid Player (per week) | Max Wage Rule |
| 1885 | 10/20 shillings | Top Blackburn players - £1 | None |
| 1888 | £1 | Nick Ross (Everton) - £2.5 | None |
| 1895 | £1 | William Foulke of Sheffield United - £3 | None |
| 1900 | £1 | Liverpool players - £7 | None |
| 1901 | £1 | £4 | |
| 1909 | £2 | £4 | |
| 1919 | £3 | £10 | |
| 1945 | £4 | £12 | |
| 1951 | £5 | £14 | |
| 1953 | £5 | £15 | |
| 1957 | £6 | £17 | |
| 1958 | £10 | £20 | |
| 1960 | £14 | £25 | |
| 1961 | £15 | Abolished |
Average Salaries During 1960 To 1991:
In 1961, FA abolished the max wage rule and that is where we saw rapid increase in footballer's wages. Johny Haynes who was England captain in 1962 became the first player to earn £100 per-week salary. However some clubs tried to implement their own wage structures including wage ceiling like for example Manchester United set a max £50 per week max wage limit for next few seasons
| YEAR | AVERAGE WEEKLY WAGE | HIGHEST PAID PLAYER |
| 1962 | £25 | Johny Haynes (£100 per-week) |
| 1963 | £29 | |
| 1964 | £34 | |
| 1965 | £35 | |
| 1966 | £44 | |
| 1967 | £51 | |
| 1968 | £59 | George Best (£1000 per-week) |
| 1969 | £64 | |
| 1970 | £71 | |
| 1971 | £77 | |
| 1972 | £85 | |
| 1973 | £92 | |
| 1974 | £100 | |
| 1975 | £115 | |
| 1976 | £140 | |
| 1977 | £200 | |
| 1978 | £300 | |
| 1979 | £410 | |
| 1980 | £550 | Trevor Francis (£1,500 per-week) |
| 1981 | £625 | Bryan Robson (£2,700 per-week) |
| 1982 | £720 | |
| 1983 | £840 | |
| 1984 | £900 | |
| 1985 | £1000 | |
| 1986 | £1100 | Paul Gascoigne (£5,000 per-week) |
| 1987 | £1200 | |
| 1988 | £1300 | |
| 1989 | £1500 | |
| 1990 | £1600 | |
| 1991 | £1800 | |
| 1992 | £2000 |
Average Salaries In Premier League Era Since 1992:
Average salary in premier league sky rocketed after English top flight was rebranded to 'English Premier League'. The league in general became more commercialised and huge influx of money meant clubs could afford to offer astronomical wages to footballers compared to other industries in England. 3 years after rebranded as Premier League, average salary in the league had shoot up to £3,000 per week. While highest paid player in league at that time was Dennis Bergkamp with salary over £25,000 per week.
| SEASON | Average Wage (Weekly) | Highest Paid Player |
| 1992/32 | £2,250 | John Barnes (£10,000 per week) |
| 1993/94 | £2,500 | John Barnes (£10,000 per week) |
| 1994/95 | £2,750 | Eric Cantona (£18,000) |
| 1995/96 | £3,400 | Dennis Bergkamp (£25,000) |
| 1996/97 | £3,800 | Fabrizio Ravanelli (£42,000) |
| 1997/98 | £5,000 | Alan Shearer (£34,000) |
| 1998/99 | £7,000 | Alan Shearer (£34,000) |
| 1999/00 | £9,000 | Roy Keane (£52,000) |
| 2000/01 | £12,000 | Roy Keane (£52,000) |
| 2001/02 | £12,900 | Roy Keane (£90,000) |
| 2002/03 | £15,500 | Roy Keane (£90,000) |
| 2003/04 | £18,000 | Hernan Crespo (£94,000) |
| 2004/05 | £18,400 | Frank Lampard (£98,000) |
| 2005/06 | £18,500 | Steven Gerrard (£100,000) |
| 2006/07 | £29,000 | Andriy Shevchenko (£110,000) |
| 2007/08 | £18,000 | John Terry (£135,000) |
| 2008/09 | £22,000 | Robinho (£150,000) |
| 2009/10 | £27,000 | Carlos Tevez (£220,000) |
| 2010/11 | £30,000 | Carlos Tevez (£220,000) |
| 2011/12 | £32,000 | Carlos Tevez (£220,000) |
| 2012/13 | £33,000 | Carlos Tevez (£220,000) |
| 2013/14 | £35,000 | Wayne Rooney (£300,000) |
| 2014/15 | £38,000 | Wayne Rooney (£300,000) |
| 2015/16 | £40,000 | Wayne Rooney (£300,000) |
| 2016/17 | £43,000 | Wayne Rooney (£300,000) |
| 2017/18 | £45,000 | Alexis Sanches (£350,000) |
| 2018/19 | £47,000 | Alexis Sanches (£350,000) |
| 2019/20 | £51,000 | David De Gea (£375,000) |
| 2020/21 | £52,000 | Gareth Bale (£380,000) |
| 2021/22 | £53,000 | Cristiano Ronaldo (£420,000) |
| 2022/23 | £55,000 | Kevin De Bruyne (£400,000) |
| 2023/24 | £56,000 | Kevin De Bruyne (£400,000) |
| 2024/25 | £57,000 | Erling Haaland (£500,000) |
| 2025/26 | £60,000 | Erling Haaland (£500,000) |
See Also:
Highest paid player in every premier league season since 1992
