Teams’ annual wages vary from €2.29 million at Telstar to Real Madrid’s €309.6 million
Player wage spending across Europe’s biggest leagues has never been higher, and the way those salaries are distributed within each competition shapes the balance of power as much as the total amounts. From England to the Netherlands, the gap between clubs at the top and bottom of each championship has turned wage tables into a map of who can realistically compete for trophies and who is fighting simply to keep up. The latest Sportingpedia report uses data from Capology to examine first team base wages in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, the Bundesliga, Ligue 1, Liga Portugal and the Eredivisie for the 2025/26 season.
We compare total wage bills by league, measure how much of each total is controlled by individual clubs, and track the ratios between the highest and lowest spenders in every competition to show where wage spending is most concentrated and where it is more evenly spread.
The headline finding is that the Premier League sits alone at the top with just over €2.40 billion euros in salaries. That is about 66% more than La Liga’s €1.45 billion and more than twice the totals in the Bundesliga and Serie A, while England also has the flattest internal profile, with a little over four to one between its richest and poorest clubs. At the opposite end, other leagues have far steeper internal divides, with wage gaps stretching beyond ten to one and, in the Eredivisie, past fifteen to one between their biggest and smallest payers.
Total and Average Club Wages in Europe’s Top 7 Leagues for 2025/26 Season
Data Source: Capology.com
Key Takeaways:
The Premier League leads Europe in player salaries, spending €2.41 billion – 65% more than La Liga, the second-highest
Real Madrid (€305.4 million), Bayern Munich (€257.4 million), and Manchester City (€255.3 million) pay the highest salaries in football
Six clubs spent more than 200 million in annual salaries: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, PSG, Manchester City, and Arsenal
Nineteen European clubs pay over €100 million in wages; nine are from the Premier League
No Portuguese or Dutch club matches Brentford’s €62.5 million wage bill – the lowest in England’s top flight
In the Premier League, Manchester City pay 10.48% of the league’s wage bill, while Brentford sit at just 2.56%
In La Liga, Real Madrid command 21.35% of all salaries, with Levante on only 1.73%
In Serie A, Inter account for 11.61% of the total, whereas Lecce stand at 1.67%
In the Bundesliga, Bayern Munich shoulder 21.53% of all wages, while Heidenheim contribute just 2.11%
In Ligue 1, PSG control 20.99% of the wage bill, as Le Havre remain on only 2.15%
In Liga Portugal, Benfica hold 19.85% of all salaries, compared to Alvercas 1.57%
In the Eredivisie, PSV lead with a 17.09% share of annual wages, while Telstar sit at just 1.12%
Premier League 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
No league in world football spends more on player wages than the Premier League, but within England’s top flight the gulf between the top and bottom remains stark. Manchester City lead the way, committing €251.74 million in salaries for 2025/26 – 10.48% of the entire league’s €2,402,536,808 wage bill. Arsenal, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham round out the traditional “big six”, each dedicating around or well over €150 million to player wages, and together accounting for just under half (about 49%) of the division’s total payroll. Aston Villa and Newcastle are the only other sides exceeding the €130 million mark, a threshold the majority of Premier League clubs cannot reach.
In stark contrast, Brentford spend €61.49 million – barely a quarter of City’s outlay and just 2.56% of the league-wide total. Burnley, Leeds and Brighton all sit between 2.64% and 2.86%, while Bournemouth’s €71.07 million gives them 2.96%. Sunderland and Crystal Palace each hover just above 3.2% of the wage bill, with Wolverhampton, Everton and Fulham clustered between 3.4% and 3.7%. Nottingham Forest’s €105.83 million, equal to 4.40% of the total, marks the last club above €100 million. The seven lowest-paying clubs combined still fall short of matching City’s wage bill. Despite this imbalance, the ratio between the top and bottom payers in England remains far lower than in Spain, Germany or the Netherlands, where the leading clubs typically control more than one fifth of all salaries.
La Liga 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
Real Madrid are the undisputed paymasters of Spanish and European football, committing €309.57 million to first team base salaries for 2025/26 – more than 21% of the entire league’s €1,450,295,000 wage bill and over €87 million clear of their historic rivals Barcelona, whose €222.04 million payroll still places them comfortably in second on 15.31% of the total. Atletico Madrid rank third at €157.29 million (10.85%), a figure that stands apart from the rest of the league but is roughly half of Real Madrid’s outlay. Together, Spain’s big three clubs account for 47.5% of all La Liga salaries.
Beyond the established giants, only Athletic Bilbao (€84.55 million) and Betis (€75.99 million) exceed the €70 million mark, holding 5.83% and 5.24% of league wages respectively. Clubs such as Villarreal, Real Sociedad and Sevilla operate in the €65–70 million range, each controlling between 4.49% and 4.82% of the total and forming a clear second tier. The drop-off from there is steep: Girona, Valencia and Celta Vigo all spend less than €51 million on wages and sit between 2.70% and 3.45% of league salaries, while Mallorca, Getafe and Rayo Vallecano each fall below 2.5%. At the very bottom, Oviedo, Osasuna, Elche, Espanyol, Alaves and Levante each allocate less than €31 million to first-team salaries, with shares ranging from 1.73% to 2.10% – barely a tenth of what Los Blancos pay. The combined wage bills of the eight lowest-spending clubs do not match Real Madrid’s single payroll, underlining how dominant the giants of Spanish football remain both in absolute terms and as a share of the total wages paid in La Liga.
Serie A 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
Inter top Serie A’s wage table for 2025/26, committing €136.2 million to salaries – more than any other club in Italy and accounting for 11.61% of the entire league’s €1,172,640,000 payroll. Their nearest rivals, Juventus and Napoli, follow with €125.82 million (10.73%) and €112.2 million (9.57%) respectively, with Roma not far behind on €109.09 million (9.30%). Collectively, the five biggest spenders (Inter, Juventus, Napoli, Roma, Milan) are responsible for €578.01 million – just under half (around 49.3%) of all salaries paid out in Serie A. Milan’s €94.7 million gives them 8.08% of the league total and completes a tightly packed top five.
At the other end of the scale, Lecce and Pisa are the league’s lowest spenders, allocating €19.55 million and €19.84 million respectively, with Udinese and Parma just above the €25 million mark. Their shares range from 1.67% to 2.24% of the total, highlighting how thinly resources are spread at the bottom. Genoa, Verona and Cagliari also sit in the lower band, with wage bills between €28.99 million and €30.19 million and shares of 2.47% to 2.57%. The gap between Inter and the lowest spender, Lecce, stands at €116.65 million – a financial gulf of nearly seven to one that mirrors the on-field disparity in resources. Inter’s wage bill alone is more than the combined salaries of the six lowest-spending clubs in Serie A, underlining the sharp divide between Italy’s elite and its strugglers and putting Serie A closer to Spain and Germany than to the relatively flatter profile seen in England.
Bundesliga 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
Bayern Munich are the Bundesliga’s highest wage payers by a considerable margin, with a salary bill of €257.58 million – 21.53% of the league’s €1,196,550,000 total. Their outlay is more than double that of Borussia Dortmund, who are next on the list with €123.75 million (10.34%), and comfortably ahead of RB Leipzig (€92.28 million, 7.71%) and Bayer Leverkusen (€91.68 million, 7.66%). Eintracht Frankfurt’s €64.13 million gives them 5.36% of the total. The combined salaries of the top five spenders (Bayern, Dortmund, Leipzig, Leverkusen, Frankfurt) amount to €629.42 million, covering more than half (around 52.6%) of all wages paid in the division.
At the other end of the spectrum, St Pauli and Heidenheim have the lowest salary commitments in the Bundesliga, each spending just over €25 million. Heidenheim’s €25.22 million accounts for 2.11% of the league total, while St Pauli’s €25.42 million makes up 2.12%. Clubs such as Koln, Union Berlin, Augsburg, Mainz, Hamburger and Werder Bremen operate between €34.08 million and €44.32 million, with shares in the 2.85% to 3.70% range. The difference between Bayern Munich and the lowest spender, Heidenheim, is an extraordinary €232.36 million, and Bayern’s wage bill is more than ten times larger. It is also greater than the combined total of the eight lowest-spending clubs in the league. This extreme concentration of salary spending at the very top helps to explain Bayern’s long-term dominance in German football and places the Bundesliga alongside La Liga among Europe’s most top-heavy leagues in percentage terms.
Ligue 1 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
Paris Saint-Germain are the dominant financial force in Ligue 1, with a wage bill of €174.79 million for the 2025/26 season – an amount that represents 20.99% of the entire league total of €832,840,000. The gulf between PSG and their nearest competitors is striking: Marseille, the second-highest spenders, pay €95.42 million (11.46% of the total), just over half of PSG’s outlay, while Monaco follow in third at €62.22 million (7.47%). The three biggest spenders together account for almost 40% of all salaries paid in Ligue 1, reflecting an extraordinary concentration of resources at the very top.
At the opposite end of the table, Le Havre and Angers are among the league’s lowest spenders, with annual wage bills of €17.87 million and €17.98 million, each worth a little over 2.1% of the league total. Auxerre, on €19.42 million, holds 2.33%. Lorient, Metz and Toulouse sit slightly higher, between €21.6 million and €23.73 million, but still remain below 2.9% of the total each. This means that PSG commit almost 10 times more to player wages than the smallest clubs, with the gap between the top and bottom standing at around €156.9 million. The wage bill of PSG alone is higher than the combined salaries of several of the league’s lowest-paying sides. Such disparities highlight how Ligue 1 remains one of Europe’s most polarised top flights, with financial power heavily concentrated in Paris and only a handful of clubs capable of approaching that level of investment.
Liga Portugal 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
Benfica top the wage rankings in Liga Portugal, committing €42.48 million to player salaries in 2025/26 – an amount that accounts for 19.85% of the entire league’s €213,985,000 outlay. Their nearest rivals, Sporting Lisbon and Porto, follow with wage bills of €33.18 million (15.51%) and €30.91 million (14.44%) respectively. Together, the three traditional giants are responsible for €106.57 million – almost half (49.8%) of all salary spending in the league. Braga, with €16.5 million in wages and a 7.71% share, are the only other side to surpass €10 million, underlining the steep drop-off after the top three.
Rio Ave and Estoril, at €9.69 million and €9.51 million, each carry just over 4.4% of league salaries, while Casa Pia and Famalicao, with €8.39 million and €7.71 million, sit between 3.60% and 3.92%. Arouca, Nacional, Santa Clara, Vitoria, Moreirense, Estrela Amadora, Gil Vicente and Avs all spend between €5.31 million and €6.45 million and hold shares from 2.48% to 3.01%. At the very bottom of the Portuguese top flight, Tondela and Alverca post wage bills of €3.86 million and €3.37 million, responsible for 1.80% and 1.57% of league salaries. Benfica’s spending is more than twelve times higher than Alverca’s and the gap between the highest and lowest payers reaches €39.11 million. In percentage terms, the difference between top and bottom payers in Portugal is wider than in Serie A or Ligue 1 and close to the ratios seen in La Liga and the Bundesliga. The data highlights just how pronounced the financial divide is in Portugal’s top flight, with the top three clubs maintaining a huge advantage over the rest of the competition despite operating at a much lower absolute level than their counterparts in England, Spain or Germany.
Eredivisie 2025/26: First Team Base Wages
Data Source: Capology.com
PSV lead the Eredivisie in player salary spending, allocating €35.07 million in 2025/26 – a figure that amounts to 17.09% of the league’s total wage bill of €205,160,000. Ajax are close behind, with €32.73 million (15.95%), followed by Feyenoord on €25.75 million (12.55%). Collectively, these three clubs are responsible for €93.55 million in wages and 45.6% of all salaries paid in the Dutch top flight, underlining their financial dominance and the dependence of the league on a small group of traditional giants.
Beyond the big three, Utrecht (€14.42 million, 7.03%), AZ and Twente (each €12.03 million, 5.86%) are the only other clubs spending over €10 million on wages. NEC Nijmegen and Fortuna Sittard, on €9.66 million and €9.35 million, each account for around 4.6–4.7% of the total, while PEC Zwolle, Sparta Rotterdam and NAC Breda sit between €6.9 million and €7.28 million, with shares from 3.36% to 3.55%. Heerenveen, Heracles and Groningen operate in the €5.03–6.44 million range, corresponding to roughly 2.45% to 3.14% of league salaries, while Go Ahead Eagles and Excelsior each spend just under €5 million and carry around 2.42–2.43%.
At the bottom of the scale, Volendam pay €3.02 million (1.47% of the total) and Telstar just €2.29 million (1.12%). PSV’s outlay is more than fifteen times higher than Telstar’s, creating a gap of €32.78 million between the league’s highest and lowest spenders. The numbers reinforce the clear financial hierarchy in Dutch football, where the traditional giants and a handful of challengers are well ahead of the rest, and where the internal wage gap – measured in relative terms – is now the widest of any of Europe’s top seven leagues.
Notre Dame’s relationship with the ACC remains complicated, strained by football independence yet bound by shared sports commitments. Miami’s playoff berth at the expense of the Irish has only deepened tensions, but both sides know they must find common ground.
The College Football Playoff drama reached its peak when Miami jumped Notre Dame for the final berth, despite the Irish holding a higher ranking for much of the season. The Hurricanes’ Week 1 win over Notre Dame gave the committee the justification it needed, and the ACC backed Miami aggressively in the final push. Notre Dame athletic director Pete Bevacqua called the outcome “permanent damage” to the relationship, noting the conference’s politicking against its biggest partner.
Notre Dame’s Unique Position
The ACC is home to Notre Dame basketball and Olympic sports, but football remains independent. That independence allows the Irish to keep all their football revenue, a financial advantage that makes joining a league less appealing. Yet the playoff snub highlighted the downside: without a conference home, Notre Dame lacks allies when selection politics come into play. As one CBS Sports analyst put it, “Notre Dame didn’t mind Miami making its case, but felt the ACC was taking a lot of shots at us”.
Limited Options
Where would Notre Dame go if the ACC relationship soured? The Big Ten looms as a possibility, but geography and tradition complicate matters. The SEC offers prestige but little cultural fit. Independence remains the Irish identity, but the playoff system increasingly favors conference champions. As NBC Sports noted, “Notre Dame’s strained relationship with the ACC leaves them with few viable alternatives”.
Voices From Both Sides
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips defended the league’s stance: “The University of Notre Dame is an incredibly valued member of the ACC… but when it comes to football, we have a responsibility to support and advocate for all 17 of our football-playing members”.
Bevacqua countered: “We were mystified by the actions of the conference, to attack their biggest business partner in football and a member conference in 24 sports”. Even MLB.com’s coverage of Notre Dame baseball underscored the school’s deep ties to ACC competition, showing how intertwined the programs remain.
The Path Forward
Despite the bitterness, both sides recognize the need to move forward. Notre Dame cannot afford to alienate the ACC, which houses most of its athletic programs. The ACC, meanwhile, benefits from the prestige Notre Dame brings. As Fox Sports summarized, “We have a responsibility to support our teams, but Notre Dame remains central to the ACC’s identity”.
In the end, the Irish and the ACC will work things out. The relationship may be bruised, but neither side has anywhere better to go.
The Women’s National Basketball Association owners and WNBA players now have until January 9th to get a new collective bargaining agreement done. The two sides could not come up with an agreement in October and decided to try and get a deal done by November 30th. The sides have agreed to another extension. There is plenty of time before the 2026 season starts in the spring but there is a business to run. Portland and Toronto are supposed to be stocked by an expansion draft and there is the WNBA entry draft on April 13th, 2026. If there is a lockout imposed by the owners, players would be barred from team facilities, practices, games, and communications with team staff.
The players don’t want a salary cap while the owners are trying to suppress salaries. Very typical in sports labor negotiations. There may be two factors in the players’ thinking. Two other basketball opportunities. A handful of WNBA players have committed to play in Project B, a women’s basketball startup league that will begin play in Europe, Asia and Latin America in November 2026 and last through April 2027. The league will not overlap with the WNBA season. The Project B women’s basketball league will include six teams with 11 players on each roster, and play a 5-on-5 format. Project B plans to host seven two-week tournaments in locations throughout Europe, Asia and Latin America. Project B will offer players an equity stake in the league and promises to pay more than the WNBA owners are willing to pay for players. There is another league available to the players called Unrivaled. The three players on three players league is going into its second year starting in January with eight teams. The WNBA is not the only game in town for players.
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, right, greets Baltimore Ravens cornerback Marlon Humphrey (44) after an NFL football game Wednesday, Dec 2, 2020, in Pittsburgh. The Steelers won 19-14. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
One day in the not so distant future both Aaron Rodgers and Mike Tomlin will be headed to Canton. For now the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and head coach are headed in another direction — winning the AFC North.
Pittsburgh’s upset of Baltimore Sunday moved the Steelers back atop the division and set up an interesting final month of the season. Rodgers, the four-time NFL MVP, will try to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2021. And Tomlin will try to continue his amazing streak of never having a losing record.
Sitting at 7-6, the Steelers finish with a Monday night home game against Miami, travel to Detroit and Cleveland and then host Baltimore in what could be a winner-take-all scenario.
In Sunday’s win over the Ravens the 42-year-old Rodgers, one of six active QBs to win a Super Bowl, completed 23 of 34 passes for 284 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for a touchdown for the first time since 2022.
“We knew what was on the line today and that’s why you go do business with a guy like Aaron,” Tomlin, one of seven active Super Bowl winning coaches, said in his postgame press conference. “For thick days like today. He’s a been-there done-that guy. Beyond the experience component of it, he relishes it. You can just tell. That’s the benefit of having a guy like AR.”
Rodgers and the Steelers got off to a quick start this season. They were 4-1 before they lost three of their next four, including Rodgers’ game against the Packers. They were desperate heading into Baltimore, who had gone from 1-5 to 6-6, and came away with the win.
Now they have a legitimate shot at winning the division, keeping Tomlin’s streak alive and sending Rodgers back to the playoffs.
Is it Over?
Speaking of future Hall of Fame quarterbacks and coaches, things are not looking bright in Kansas City for Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid.
Sunday night’s loss to Houston dropped the three-time defending AFC champs to 6-7 on the season. Mahomes, who was 14-for-33 for 160 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions for a 19.8 QB rating, had the worst game of his career.
Over his past five games, Mahomes has been under 50 percent completion percentage twice. Before that he had played 149 games in college and the pros and was never under 50 percent.
And the last time the Chiefs were under .500 after 13 games? That would be 2012 when Andy Reid was in his final season in Philadelphia.
Deja Boo
Just two years ago the Eagles started the season 10-1 only to finish 11-6 and get blown out in the first round of the playoffs by Tampa Bay.
This season the Eagles started the season 8-2 and after Monday’s ugly loss to the Chargers are 8-5. Is history repeating like a bad burrito?
Three of the Eagles final four games are against the worst team in the league, Las Vegas, and two against a really bad Washington team.
Lose any of those games and everyone in the organization should be in trouble.
Never Lose Twice
Detroit’s win over Dallas last week kept alive a pretty impressive streak for the Lions. They have now won 15 straight games after a loss.
That ties for the longest streak of not losing two straight with the Baltimore Ravens (2009-12) and Denver Broncos (1984-88).
No Luck for Colts
Not only is Indianapolis falling apart, the Colts lost QB Daniel Jones for the season with a torn Achilles.
Indy’s loss Sunday in Jacksonville was the 11th straight time they lost to the Jaguars in Florida. The last time the Colts won in Jacksonville was 2014 when Andrew Luck quarterbacked the Colts over Blake Bortles and the Jags.
Shut Out? Shut Up
Minnesota lost to Seattle, 26-0, two weeks ago and then came back and beat Washington, 31-0.
Guess that means Seattle would beat Washington, 57-0.
Seriously, that’s the first time since weeks three and four of 1992 that a team was shut out one week and then recorded a shutout the following week. Denver lost to Philadelphia, 30-0, and then beat Cleveland, 12-0, the next week.
Battle in the South
With a month to go, Tampa Bay and Carolina are tied for first place in the NFC South at 7-6. The crazy part is the two teams have not played each other yet.
They will meet twice over this final month, next week in Charlotte and then the final week of the season in Tampa. The Panthers also play at New Orleans and host Seattle. While the Bucs host Atlanta, Thursday night, and travel across the state to Miami.
Just another 1
Green Bay faced Chicago, who was the No. 1 seed in the NFC, last week and beat them, 28-21.
This week the Packers face the Broncos, who happen to be the No. 1 seed in the AFC. Who knows what will happen, but Vegas has installed the Pack as a 2 1/2-point road favorite.
It’s Official
When Miami beat the New York Jets, Sunday, it eliminated the Jets from the playoffs. Shocking, right?
It will be the 15th straight year the Jets miss the playoffs, which is the longest streak of any team in the four major sports.
