EFL Championship Club's Wage Bills 2025/26 - (Ranked)
English Championship is by far the most expensive second-tier leagues world football. Thanks to parachute payments from Premier League prize money fund for relegated clubs, some teams have massive advantage over the usual championship sides.
Southampton, Leicester and Ipswich were releated from Premier League last season and they have the highest wage bill in 2025/26 season in Championship even after usual 30 to 50% wage cuts.
Below is a full breakdown of all Championship club's squad wage bills, average player salaries in the squad and the highest-paid players in each team.
| Rank | Team | Wage Bill | Average Salary (per week) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Southampton | £32.7m | £22,400 |
| 2 | Leicester City | £31.8m | £22,700 |
| 3 | Ipswich Town | £26.1m | £18,600 |
| 4 | Sheffield United | £22.5m | £14,900 |
| 5 | West Brom | £21.4m | £17,200 |
| 6 | Birmingham City | £19.6m | £14,500 |
| 7 | Hull City | £19.1m | £13,600 |
| 8 | Norwich City | £18.4m | £11,700 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | £18.1m | £12,900 |
| 10 | Stoke City | £17.1m | £12,700 |
| 11 | Watford | £16.8m | £11,100 |
| 12 | Wrexham | £16.8m | £9,800 |
| 13 | QPR | £14.7m | £9,400 |
| 14 | Coventry City | £14.4m | £9,900 |
| 15 | Swansea City | £13.8m | £8,800 |
| 16 | Preston | £13.8m | £7,800 |
| 17 | Millwall | £13.4m | £7,800 |
| 18 | Bristol City | £13.0m | £8,600 |
| 19 | Oxford United | £12.6m | £8,100 |
| 20 | Derby County | £12.2m | £8,400 |
| 21 | Blackburn Rovers | £12.1m | £9,300 |
| 22 | Charlton Athletic | £10.3m | £7,600 |
| 23 | Portsmouth | £9.8m | £6,300 |
| 24 | Sheffield Wednesday | £7.8m | £5,500 |
Average salaries in Championship has been on the rise over the last 20 years. In 2025/26 season it is estimated average player salary in the league is around £10,500/week. Which on similar levels to the top leagues like Eredevisie, Turkish League and higher then Belgian, Austrian, Swiss, Polish and similar leagues.
The Relegation Effect: Why Wages Drop After Moving Down from the Premier League
Most Premier League player contracts contain relegation wage-reduction clauses. These clauses typically cut wages by 30-50% if the club drops to Championship.
The opposite is true as well. When Championship club buy an expensive player he usually have automatic clause which increase his salary to Premier league standard if club gets promoted to Premier League. This protects clubs from financial collapse and also protect players with uncertain situations regarding contracts and clubs.
Past Examples of clubs reducing wage bill after relegation:
Hull City (Relegated 2015)
Hull City players had built-in clauses reducing wages by up to 40-50% in case of relegation. It was confirmed by players themselves later on and reported publicly at the time.
Large-scale study of relegated clubs (2005/22)
Among 52 clubs relegated from the top flight during this time, the majority had their wage bill reduced significantly in championship. It is reported that average reduction was around 28% in year one. Because even with parachute payments, there is a huge difference in clubs revenue in Premier League and Championship. That is also one of the reason's why relegated clubs are forced to sell their top players after relegations.
What this means for the 2025/26 Championship?
Southampton and Leicester still have large wage bills, but both are already operating at lower wage bill compared to their 2024/25 Premier League wages.
Wage Gap: Premier League vs Championship
Average Premier League weekly salary: £60k+
Average Championship weekly salary: £10k–£12k
Top Premier League earners: £300k+/week
Top Championship earners: usually £30k–£45k/week
Premier League guarantees £100 million in prize money each year for even the 17th placed team and without that, Championship clubs simply can not operate at Premier League level. Average salary in Premier League has reached £60k/week while players in top half of Championship table can usually make on average £10k/week. Alot of Championship clubs operate with wage caps for example Sheffield Wednesday do not pay any of their players over £12k/week.
➤ English Championship Player Salaries