It’s no secret that sports stars can earn huge sums over the course of a season. Thanks to the huge revenue they earn for their teams, they can even earn millions just by sitting on the sidelines. But which sports stars are the wealthiest, and which have seen the biggest pay rises?
The team at Prime Casino has delved into the data to find out, looking at prize money for various sporting events in the UK as well as the salaries of Championship and Premier League football players over the last 10 years. They’ve also compared this to the rise in average annual wages in the UK (38%) and the rise in the inflation rate (2.4%) over the last 10 years.
The Highest Earning Sportspeople
1) David BeckhamNet Worth: £750 million
Former footballer David Beckham is the UK’s highest-earning sportsperson, with an estimated net worth of £750 million. Despite ending his playing career in 2013, Beckham still has a financial interest in the sport, being the co-owner of Florida football team Inter Miami.
2) Lewis HamiltonNet Worth: £350 million
Up next is Lewis Hamilton. The Formula 1 driver made the bulk of his fortune from his racing career but he’s also a shrewd businessman in his own right. He has investments in a vegan burger chain, his own clothing line with Tommy Hilfiger and is part owner of the Denver Broncos.
3) Rory McIlroyNet Worth: £225 million
Rory McIlroy takes third place with a fortune of £225 million. The four-time major championship winner is one of the richest professional golfers of all time. On top of his tournament winnings, McIlroy signed an endorsement deal with Taylormade to promote their golf gear until 2027, worth £77 million.
The Sporting Events With The Biggest Increase In Prize Money
1) British Open Percent Change: 146%
The British Open, also known as the Open Championship, is the world’s oldest golf tournament. Its prize money has increased by 146% over the last ten years, approximately 3.8 times the increase in average annual wages over the same period (38%).
2) World Darts Championship Percent Change: 100%
The World Darts Championship takes second place, with its prize money doubling over the past 10 years. One of the newest sporting events on our list, the World Darts Championship has the biggest prize fund for any darts competition. Last year’s winner, Luke Humphries, took home £500,000, up from £250,000 in 2014.
3) Snooker World Championship Percent Change: 67%
Rounding out the top three is the longest-running tournament in snooker’s history, the Snooker World Championship. Played at the Crucible Theatre for nearly 50 years, the tournament had a prize fund of £2.3 million in 2024, with the winner taking home half a million pounds, up 67% from 2014. This is just under a third more than the average annual wage increase and almost two-thirds more than the average inflation rate.
The Championship Football Teams With The Biggest Salaries
1) Burnley Average Salary: £1,068,690
Burnley tops the list for Championship footballers with the highest salaries. The players earn an average of £1,068,690, but each salary can be hugely different. Captain Josh Brownhill is the team’s top earner, raking in £2.3 this season. This is 15 times more than recently signed centre-back Jordan Beyer, who receives £156,000.
2) West Bromwich Average Salary: £918,320
West Brom is second by a margin of £150,000. Players at the West Midlands club earn an average of £918,320. On loan from Everton, centre-back Mason Holgate is the club’s highest-paid player. He’s also one of the highest-paid players in the league overall.
3) Norwich City Average Salary: £775,357
Next up is Norwich City, which recently saw a change of ownership. After 28 years of former TV chef Delia Smith at the helm, ownership passed to businessman Mark Attanasio, who also owns the MLB team, the Milwaukee Brewers. The Canaries will earn an average of £775,357 each over the 2024/25 season.
The Championship Football Teams With The Biggest Salary Increases
1) Sheffield Wednesday Percent Increase: 71%
Sheffield Wednesday has seen the biggest salary increase for its players over the past 10 years. Averaging £361,546 in 2014, salaries have risen by 71% to £617,840 in 2024. This is a third more than the increase in average annual wages in the UK.
2) Burnley Percent Increase: 54%
With a 54% increase in average wages, Burnley takes second place. In the 2014/15 season, players earned £695,269, compared to the average of £1,068,690 in 2024/25. This is considerably more than the increase in the average annual wage (38%). It’s also roughly 22 times the average increase in inflation over the last 10 years.
3) Millwall Percent Increase: 53%
Just behind Burnely is the South London club Millwall. The players have seen a 53% pay increase since the 2014/15 season, with salaries averaging £446,370 in 2024/25. Defender Japhet Tanganga is currently the club’s highest-paid player, earning £1.8 million this season, or £35,000 a week.
Championship Team Salaries Then Versus Now
10 years ago, Sunderland had the highest average salary of the teams currently in the Championship, averaging £1.8 million. This could be due to the financial boost it had playing in the Premier League that season. Burnley is the highest-paid team in 2024/25, although this is 40% less than Sunderland in 2014/15.
The Premier League Teams With The Biggest Salaries
1) Manchester City Average Salary: £8,411,000
Man City players are the highest paid overall, with average salaries of £8.4 million for the 2024/25 season. This could be due to the club's owners, a Saudi investment fund that bought the club back in 2008 and has invested heavily in it since then.
2) Arsenal Average Salary: £7,824,818
Up next is Arsenal, with players earning an average of £7.8 million over the 2024/25 season. The club’s financial commitment has allowed them to invest in top talent, signing players like forward Kai Havertz in 2023.
3) Manchester United Average Salary: £6,627,857
Manchester United completes the top three. The team can secure huge sponsorship deals thanks to its massive global fanbase. This revenue stream, along with broadcasting rights and merchandise, allows them to pay players an average of £6.6 million for the 2024/25 season.
The Premier League Teams With The Biggest Salary Increases
1) Brentford Percent Increase: 644%
Brentford tops the list as the Premier League team with the biggest salary increase at 644%. The West London club was promoted after winning the 2021 Championship. The promotion earned them a massive boost in commercial revenue. This allowed them to increase player salaries from an average of slightly over £192,000 in 2014/15 to £1.4 million in the 2024/25 season.
2) Bournemouth Percent Increase: 518%
It’s been a rocky decade for AFC Bournemouth. After promotion to the Premier League in 2014/15, they spent five seasons in the top flight before relegation in 2019/20 and promotion again in 2021/22. However, this hasn’t stopped the club from increasing its average player salaries by more than 500%.
3) Fulham Percent Increase: 409%
Third place is Fulham, with an average 409% increase in player wages over the past 10 years. This is more than three and a half times the increase in average annual wages. The team has increased its overall revenue thanks to a lucrative Premier League deal, allowing it to invest in its squad by raising wages.
Premier League Team Salaries Then Versus Now
Manchester City players are currently the highest paid in the league, but 10 years ago, their local rivals had the biggest salaries. In 2014/15, Manchester United players earned an average of £5 million each, compared to City’s £4.9 million in the same season.
The Highest-Paid Footballers
1) Kevin De Bruyne 2024/25 Salary: £20.8 million
With a salary of £20.8 million, Kevin de Bruyne is the highest-paid footballer in the UK this season. The Man City midfielder earns 17% more than 2014/15’s top earner, former Manchester United striker Falcio, who was paid £17.8 million adjusted for inflation.
2) Erling Haaland 2024/25 Salary: £19.5 million
In second place is another Man City player, Erling Haaland. The striker will earn £19.5 million over the 2025/25 season, a quarter more than the second highest-paid player in 2014/15, Manchester United’s Ángel Di María. However, this is less than the increase in average annual wages over the last 10 years.
3) Casemiro and Mohamed Salah 2024/25 Salary: £18.2 million
Casemiro and Mohamed Salah complete the top three with salaries of £18.2 million for 2024/25. The Brazilian defensive midfielder Casemiro and Liverpool’s star striker Salah will earn 486 times the average annual salary this season. This is over a third more than the third highest-paid footballer in 2014/15, Robin van Persie, at the same rate average UK wages have risen.
Championship Player Salaries Then Versus Now
Darren Bent took the top spot as the Championship’s highest-paid player in 2014/15. The former Derby County striker was paid £4 million for his 15 appearances that season. The current highest-paid Championship footballer is West Brom defender Mason Holgate, earning £3.6 million.
Premiership Player Salaries Then Versus Now
In 2014/15, former Man United striker Falcao was the league’s highest-paid player, earning £17.8 million. This is £2.9 million less than the highest earner in 2024/25, Man City’s Kevin De Bruyne, who will rake in £20.8 million this season.
Methodology
Data for the UK sportspeople with the highest net worth in 2024 was taken from list articles, including Insidermedia.
Data for sporting event prize money in 2024 was taken from news articles, and data for sporting event prize money in 2014 was taken from news articles and the official websites of these sporting events accessed using the Internet Archive. We then calculated the percentage change between these prizes.
We used Capology to find the salary for each player in both Premier League and Championship teams in the 2014/15 and 2024/25 seasons and calculated the percentage change between the players in each league. We then averaged the salaries of each team’s players to find the percentage change for each team over this time.
We then calculated the average change in inflation from 2014 to 2024 using ONS data and compared this to the average change in both individual salaries and average team salaries to find the percentage difference.
We also compared the salaries of players and teams to the rise in median gross annual earnings in the UK for time earners from 2014 to 2024, sourced using the ONS to find the percentage difference.
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