How Much Do Championship Players Get Paid?

Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and it is played all around the globe. It is also the sport in which thousands of soccer players can earn a great living, playing in Europe, but also Asia, North America or South America.

But no country comes close to England and its Premier League. It is the richest soccer league in the world and one of the richest in all of sports. But the second-tier of English football is the famous Championship. It is this competition that has improved financially in the last 15 years.

It is the most developed second-tier division in the world and there are many clubs that play in it which got relegated from the richest of them all, the Premier League. All of this means that the Championship is also a league where soccer players can earn great sums of money.

Obviously, the Championship is a second-tier and is inferior to some of the European leagues, but just how much money is there in this division? And how much money soccer players make in the Championship? This is what we are going to find out.

How Much Does the Average Championship Player Earn?

The average player in the English Championship earns around £7,000 per week, which equates to roughly $8,500. On a yearly basis, the average Championship player earns around $442,000.

This is in stark contrast to the average wages in the Premier League, where the average yearly salary is in the region of a few million, but nevertheless, these players still earn a very good living. Still, a player’s weekly wages can also depend on numerous factors. Some of those factors are which club they play for and in which division they were in the previous season.

Who Is The Highest Paid Championship Player in 2022-23?

The highest-paid player in the Championship for the 2021/22 season is Danny Drinkwater of Reading FC. The central midfielder is set to earn £100,000 per week or £5,200,000 annually. This may be even higher due to undisclosed bonuses and incentives.

The highest-paid player in the Championship for the 2022-23 season is Ismaila Sarr of Watford FC. The winger earns around $76,000 per week, or close to $4,000,000 per season. He is by far the best player in the Championship this season, but he cannot compare to last season’s leader Danny Drinkwater.

The midfielder played for Reading in 2021-22 and his yearly salary amounted to around $6,330,000 per season, but is now expectedly a free agent, after ending his contract with the Royals. 

Which Players Are Among Top 10 Paid Championship Players In 2023?

The financial disparity between the Premier League and the Championship is best seen when looking at the top 10 best paid Championship players. This is because of ten of those players, six are on loan from Premier League clubs.

This is why these players have such high salaries, and when they go out on loan in the Championship, their parent clubs continue paying them at least part of their wages, while their loan club pays the remaining part.

10th place – Adam Reach

Reach is the 30-year-old left winger playing for West Bromwich Albion. His weekly wages are $48,000, or around $2,500,000 per annum.

9th place – Ashley Barnes

Equal on the same wages is Ashley Barnes from Burnley. The well-known striker has been at Burnley since 2014, has played in the Premier League and is spearheading the attack of currently the best team in the Championship.

This is why he gets above Reach in these standings, since it must be the case that Barnes has the greater bonuses inserted into his contract, which does not count towards his wages.

8th place – Ki-Jana Hoever

The Dutch defender has been a Liverpool player since 2018 and he is on loan at Stoke City this season. He has not played much in the Championship so far this season, but that does not stop him from earning $48,700 per week, or around $2,530,000 per year.

6th place – Marc Albrighton & Keinan Davis

Albrighton is a former Premier League winner with Leicester City. These days he plays on loan from Leicester at West Brom and his weekly wages amount to $54,200, or in the region of $2.8m per year.

Davis, on the other hand, is on loan at Watford from Aston Villa and according to Capology, he earns the same amount of money as Albrighton.

4th place – Jake Livermore & Zack Steffen

Jake Livermore used to play for Premier League side Tottenham Hotspur, but is now at West Brom since 2017. The 33-year-old is in fourth place with $55,400 per week, or $2,880,000 per year.

He is not alone there, as Manchester City goalkeeper Zack Steffen earns the same amount of money on loan at Middlesbrough.

2nd place – Tom Cleverley & Axel Tuanzebe

And once again we have two players who reportedly earn the same wages. Tom Cleverley is a Watford midfielder, while Axel Tuanzebe is a Manchester United defender on loan at Stoke City.

Both of them earn $60,300 per week. This is around $3.1m per year, or some $800,000 less than the best-paid Ismaila Sarr.

What Are The Differences Between Premier League and Championship Wages?

There are huge differences in the wages soccer players earn in the Premier League compared to the Championship. The average weekly wage for Premier League players in 2022-23 is around $72,000, while that number in the Championship is about 10 to 12 times lower.

There are over 20 players in the Championship who earn between $700 and $1,000 per week, which might not sound like much, but is still considerably better than the average wage for workers in the United Kingdom.

It is not, however, difficult to explain the disparity in pay between England’s top two divisions. The Premier League brings in incredible sums of money just from the TV deals they sell domestically and around the world.

The Championship simply does not possess such international allure, with the Premier League clubs bringing in estimated revenue of over $6 billion. While the Championship set a new record of $942 million, it is still far behind the bigger European leagues.

Conclusion

Ultimately, most soccer players in the Championship earn a good living. Their wages can vary from $1,000 for the youngsters at some of the weaker and poorer clubs in this division, to those who earn over $60,000 per week at the other end of the league. While the Championship cannot compare to the riches of the Premier League, it is still the richest second-division in the world.