Football finance has become a hot topic in recent years, and Championship clubs have often been at the center of such debate.
It has been widely debated that there is a financial disparity at all levels of the English football pyramid, particularly when comparing the riches available to Premier League clubs – particularly those that have been in the top flight for some time.
Many have argued that this is a major reason why all of the last six clubs to win promotion from the second tier have been immediately relegated, despite the fact that the three clubs before them – Fulham, AFC Bournemouth, and Nottingham Forest – have all consolidated their positions since returning to the elite in 2022.
This season, however, there is a chance that none of the three sides benefiting from parachute payments will be promoted, with the fight for top-flight football, particularly through the post-season lottery of the play-offs, as congested as it has ever been at this point in the season.
Throughout the campaign, however, we have seen a number of high-profile stars complete transfers to some of the country’s most ambitious sides, who, for various reasons, are currently in the Championship.
As a result, the division’s overall financial environment has shifted dramatically, with wage costs and individual player revenues soaring.
With that in mind, Football League World examined which ten of the division’s 24 clubs spend the most on wages, based on ESTIMATED Capology numbers.
10 Stoke City
Stoke City begin this list in tenth place, having had a mixed first full season under Mark Robins’ guidance.
Despite being one of many teams in the division with recent Premier League experience and significant investment, the Potters have come nowhere near ending their exile, which has lasted since 2018.
That is also despite the fact that the North Staffordshire club now has a weekly salary bill of £368,500, which is almost £5,000 more than Watford, who missed out on a spot on this list as a result.
It is reported that City’s best earning at the moment is experienced centre-back Ben Gibson, who earns £35,000 per week.
9 West Bromwich Albion
Few would have predicted such a catastrophic season for West Bromwich Albion, who are currently in danger of being relegated to League One for the first time since 1993.
It has been well documented that the club has struggled with financial constraints in recent years, especially after Shilen Patel took over the club two years ago, resulting in the eight-figure sales of Torbjorn Heggem and Tom Fellows in August 2025.
However, the playing group at The Hawthorns has faced criticism for failing to justify the salary claimed to be earned by some members.
As a result, Albion has the league’s ninth-highest salary expenditure, at £374,000.
8 Hull City
Meanwhile, Hull City have been the Championship season’s surprise package, and for all the right reasons.
That is not to suggest that Sergej Jakirovic’s first season in charge at the MKM Stadium has been without obstacles.
Despite these fines, the Tigers have recruited wisely in both transfer windows, earning a chance at promotion as a result, despite having the Championship’s eighth-highest salary bill of £395,450.
7 Middlesbrough
Middlesbrough has the Championship’s seventh-highest salary bill, raising the possibility that the North East side is overperforming given its current position in the promotion battle.
Steve Gibson has continued to support his hometown team over the years, and he will be hoping that his devotion, as well as that of the fans on Teesside, is rewarded in the coming weeks.
According to Capology’s ESTIMATED numbers, the businessman pays Kim Hellberg’s squad £400,769 each week in salary, with Newcastle United loanee Matt Targett accounting for £60,000 of that total, which is double what the second-highest earner, Luke Ayling, is thought to be receiving.
6 Birmingham City
Birmingham City is sixth, with the West Midlands club’s American investment under the ownership of Knighthead Capital Management being particularly well-documented.
Since Tom Wagner took over at St. Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park, the Blues have been on a mission to recover Premier League status for the first time since 2011, and they have broken their own transfer record by signing England youth international Jay Stansfield.
Birmingham were lower down on this ranking prior to an extremely active winter transfer window, but have since risen to the top six for wage bills as a result of January recruit Carlos Vicente, who reportedly earns £50,000 per week in B9, accounting for the majority of the club’s overall £441,000 payroll.
Vicente’s aforementioned income also surpassed the previous highest salary of Japanese forward Kyogo Furuhashi, who is claimed to earn £40,000 per week despite a dismal debut season with the club.
5 Norwich City
Norwich City is ranked fifth, with the East Anglian club spending an estimated £478,808 on weekly wages at Carrow Road.
Despite the club’s recent success as two-time Championship winners over the last decade, the Canaries have had a season of mixed fortunes and inconsistency.
Despite their aforementioned pay outlay, the Yellows were on the verge of relegation to League One for the first time since 2010 under Liam Manning’s management in the early weeks of the season, before the recruitment of Philippe Clement, an ex-Rangers and AS Monaco manager.
The Belgian has overseen a relative improvement in results and performance levels, and he hopes his squad will challenge for the play-offs next season in his first full season, justifying the club’s financial standing.
4 Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town, the division’s other East Anglian club, is the first to appear on this list of Premier League teams from the previous season.
The Tractor Boys’ strong roster and manager Kieran McKenna’s reputation meant they started the season as many people’s favourites for the title, though that ship may have flown at this point.
Regardless, Town, who smashed the division’s all-time transfer fee with the £17.5 million acquisition of Sindre Walle Egeli this summer, are claimed to have the Championship’s fourth-highest salary expenditure – £569,500.
3Southampton
Southampton, another newly relegated club, come in third place.
The Saints had a number of high-profile individuals and big earners leave the club on permanent or loan deals in the summer following a miserable 12-point Premier League season, but this hasn’t had a significant influence on their financial situation in comparison to other current Championship competitors.
The team has had an inconsistent season under Will Still and current manager Tonda Eckert, and some would claim that it has not warranted a £606,500 collective wage payout at St. Mary’s.
Finn Azaz, who joined from Middlesbrough for £12 million in August, is thought to be the club’s biggest earning at £50,000 per week.
2 Sheffield United
Sheffield United, the play-off finalists from previous season, are in second position.
The Blades are once again among a group of teams vying for a play-off spot in the final weeks of the season, after starting the season with six consecutive losses in all competitions under Ruben Selles.
Since then, Chris Wilder has been reappointed for a third time, providing much-needed stability at Bramall Lane under COH Sports’ ownership.
Capology estimates that United’s current weekly wage bill is £606,750. However, it could be significantly lower, given this figure still includes Ben Godfrey’s prior loan pay, despite the defender’s temporary move from Atalanta being cancelled in December.
1 Leicester City
It has been well documented that Leicester City’s financial situation is far from solid at the moment, despite the fact that the Foxes are claimed to have the Championship’s highest pay cost of £822,500.
Leicester had been treading a tightrope in terms of finances for some time when the EFL penalized the East Midlands club with an initial six-point deduction in February 2026 for violating the league’s financial criteria.
Despite widespread criticism that the sentence was overly light, the club has appealed the deduction, despite the fact that they are in serious risk of being relegated twice in a row.
The club also has the biggest individual earner in the division, Harry Winks, who is thought to earn £90,000 per week at the King Power.
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