Counting the Cost: Premier League Wage Bills Ranked (2026)
There’s no hiding place when the payslips come out. The 2025/26 wage numbers are in, and while one of Manchester’s big beasts sits miles clear at the summit, the bottom half tells its own story: smart operators stretching pounds, fallen giants still tidying up old habits, and newly-promoted outfits trying to survive without breaking the bank.
Money talks in the Premier League — but value still shouts the loudest. If you’re weighing form against finance this run-in, our best betting sites guide is a tidy companion while you crunch the numbers.
The lay of the land
These figures come via SalaryLeaks for the 2025/26 campaign. A handful of clubs have estimated elements, but the trend is unmistakable: wage power still drives the table, yet a shrewd recruitment department can make a mockery of chequebooks. And with Saudi riches hovering, expect the graph to keep pointing north.
20) Wolverhampton Wanderers — £65.1m
The league’s leanest payroll ends in heartbreak. Vítor Pereira steadied the ship last term, but losing Matheus Cunha sucked the spark out of Wolves, and even Rob Edwards couldn’t swerve relegation. Joao Gomes tops the earners at Molineux on £5.2m, with Hee-chan Hwang and Toti Gomes next up around the £3.9m mark. January exits — Jorgen Strand Larsen to Palace and Emmanuel Agbadou to Besiktas — trimmed the bill, but not the damage.
19) Brentford — £71.0m
Second-smallest budget, yet the Bees keep buzzing. Keith Andrews has them punching above weight again, Europe even a possibility. Remarkably, several of their heftier salaries — Igor Thiago, Reiss Nelson, Mikel Damsgaard and Jordan Henderson (each circa £3.9m), plus Aaron Hickey — aren’t necessarily the side’s headline performers. It’s the model that matters in TW8, and it keeps delivering.
18) Burnley — £72.7m
Back up, back down. Scott Parker couldn’t make it click, Michael Jackson’s rescue act came too late, and the Clarets return to the Championship. The chequebook wasn’t closed, mind: James Ward-Prowse leads the wage pack on £5.2m, with serial title-winner Kyle Walker at £3.6m. Loum Tchaouna, Josh Cullen and Jaidon Anthony fill out a modest top bracket.
17) Sunderland — £77.5m
Promotion via Wembley, then a savvy survival. Regis Le Bris loaded the spine with experience and bite: Granit Xhaka (£5.7m) is the dressing-room metronome, Nordi Mukiele (£4.7m) adds steel, and Lutsharel Geertruida (£4.0m, loan) brings calm. Brian Brobbey and Enzo Le Fée are both on £3.9m. For a club re-establishing itself, that’s sensible spend with Premier League nous.
16) Brighton & Hove Albion — £77.6m
Different coach, same clever Brighton. Fabian Hürzeler’s project has had bumps but the model remains pristine. Ferdi Kadioglu arrived and immediately became top earner at £4.6m, with Lewis Dunk (£4.4m) and Kaoru Mitoma (£4.2m) right there. Georginio Rutter is another on £4.2m, while January returnee Pascal Gross slots in at £3.6m. Youth, upside, and value — the blueprint on the coast.
15) Leeds United — £79.8m
Job one was survival — Daniel Farke delivered it. The wage headline is Dominic Calvert-Lewin on £6.2m, repaying faith with goals. Around him, Jack Harrison (£4.7m) and Sean Longstaff (£4.2m) keep the engine ticking, with Daniel James (£3.9m) and Noah Okafor (£3.7m) adding pace and punch. A tidy outlay for a club back on its feet.
14) Bournemouth — £80.6m
Andoni Iraola’s Cherries remain a coach’s team: clear plan, sharp edges, steady spend. Big sales have helped reset the wage curve, but there’s still quality atop the scale — Evanilson and Justin Kluivert (both £4.2m), with Ryan Christie, David Brooks and Amine Adli around £3.6m. Losses like Dean Huijsen and Illia Zabarnyi were felt, yet the structure holds.
13) Fulham — £89.3m
Mitrovic left for Saudi gold in 2023, but Marco Silva’s outfit kept their balance. Bernd Leno is the top earner at £6.3m, with Samuel Chukwueze (£6.2m) and Raul Jimenez (£5.2m) the next heftiest. Joachim Andersen (£4.7m) and Alex Iwobi (£4.2m) round out a sensible top five. Mid-table money, mid-table stability — job done.
12) Everton — £95.6m
Everton under David Moyes feel, at last, like a plan rather than a patch-up. Wages have been shaved since the big-bloat years, though the ledger still has star heft: loan arrival Jack Grealish is a whopper at £11.7m. Among the permanent core, Jordan Pickford (£7.8m) leads, with Idrissa Gueye (£6.3m), Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski (both £6.2m) close by. Results are starting to match the outlay.
11) Crystal Palace — £95.8m
FA Cup in the cabinet, identity under Oliver Glasner, and a wage bill nudging the top half. Post-Olise and Eze, the money’s spread: Daichi Kamada, Eddie Nketiah, Dean Henderson and Jorgen Strand Larsen all sit around £5.2m, with Yeremy Pino at £4.7m. Add Evann Guessand and you’ve got depth that finally looks priced for progress.
The bigger picture
The gap to the elite — especially that Manchester juggernaut at the summit — remains yawning, and Saudi cash will keep dragging salaries up. But this slice of the table shows there’s more than one way to spend: Brentford and Brighton keep schooling the league on value, Sunderland and Leeds look sensibly rebuilt, and Everton at last resemble grown-ups with a calculator. In football’s arms race, the sharpest recruitment department still wins plenty of battles.
