Leeds United had the Championship’s highest estimated player-squad wages in a January 2025 league-wide comparison: £37.206 million. The estimate, attributed to Capology by Planet Football, put Leeds ahead of Burnley (£32.032 million) and Sheffield United (£24.128 million). It is an industry estimate—not an audited comparison of every club’s wage costs—and was subject to change as the January transfer window progressed.
Where Leeds ranked in the 2024/25 Championship
The published January 2025 table ranked Leeds first of the 24 Championship clubs, with estimated annual player-squad wages of £37.206 million. Burnley was second at £32.032 million, and Sheffield United third at £24.128 million. Calculated from those published estimates, Leeds’ figure was about 16% above Burnley’s and 54% above Sheffield United’s. At the other end of the table, Portsmouth’s estimate was £7.202 million, making Leeds’ more than five times as large.
These are Capology-based industry estimates reproduced by Planet Football in January 2025. They are not verified or audited wage expenses, and the publisher warned that figures could change during the transfer window. The ranking is best read as a snapshot of estimated player-squad wages, not a definitive accounting of what each club spent over the full season.
All 24 clubs in the published estimate
| Rank | Club | Estimated annual player-squad wages |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds United | £37,206,000 |
| 2 | Burnley | £32,032,000 |
| 3 | Sheffield United | £24,128,000 |
| 4 | West Bromwich Albion | £21,642,000 |
| 5 | Luton Town | £21,294,000 |
| 6 | Cardiff City | £20,412,000 |
| 7 | Norwich City | £19,110,000 |
| 8 | Watford | £18,800,000 |
| 9 | Middlesbrough | £16,346,000 |
| 10 | Sunderland | £16,134,000 |
| 11 | Sheffield Wednesday | £15,466,000 |
| 12 | Hull City | £14,828,000 |
| 13 | Stoke City | £14,352,000 |
| 14 | Bristol City | £13,576,000 |
| 15 | Preston North End | £12,466,000 |
| 16 | Swansea City | £12,284,000 |
| 17 | Derby County | £12,264,000 |
| 18 | Blackburn Rovers | £12,090,000 |
| 19 | Millwall | £12,052,000 |
| 20 | Queens Park Rangers | £11,620,000 |
| 21 | Coventry City | £11,336,000 |
| 22 | Oxford United | £10,962,000 |
| 23 | Plymouth Argyle | £8,933,600 |
| 24 | Portsmouth | £7,202,000 |
Why Leeds’ £103 million accounts figure is different
PSRwatch’s analysis of Leeds United’s filed accounts reports £103 million in wages and £137 million in revenue for the financial year from 1 July 2024 to 30 June 2025, when Leeds were in the Championship. Its calculation puts wages at 75% of revenue. That £103 million figure is not a revised version of the £37.206 million estimate above: the two figures have different scopes, methods and time frames.
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The January estimate concerns player-squad wages. An accounts wage-cost figure is broader. Deloitte defines its measure as covering all employees, including players, technical and administrative staff, and including wages, salaries, signing-on fees, bonuses, termination payments, social security contributions and other employee-benefit expenses. PSRwatch says its figures are extracted from Companies House filings, rounded to the nearest £0.1 million, and that its mapping can differ between clubs. Do not compare the two Leeds figures as though they measured the same thing.
How Leeds’ estimate fits the Championship’s finances
Deloitte’s 2026 Annual Review of Football Finance puts total Championship wage costs at £903 million in 2024/25, up 1% from £894 million in 2023/24. Championship revenue was £942 million in 2024/25, down 2% year over year. Deloitte says wage costs rose for a second successive season after four seasons of reductions.
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The wider financial picture was loss-making: Deloitte reports Championship operating losses of £436 million and pre-tax losses of £355 million in 2024/25. Those are league-wide totals, not Leeds-specific results. The difference between operating and pre-tax losses also matters: they are separate measures and should not be used interchangeably.
Clubs’ revenue can change sharply with promotion, relegation and parachute payments. Deloitte notes that Norwich City and Watford each saw revenue fall by more than £30 million after parachute payments ceased. A high wage estimate alone therefore cannot establish whether a club is financially healthy, overspending or getting value from its squad.
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What the wage ranking can—and cannot—tell you
The comparison supports a narrow conclusion: in the January 2025 Capology-based estimate, Leeds had the Championship’s largest estimated player-squad wage bill. It does not show audited full-season spending, prove that Leeds spent the most across all staff costs, or explain a club’s financial health by itself.
For a meaningful comparison, match the accounting period and wage scope, including how bonuses and benefits are treated, and note when a squad estimate was captured. For financial context, compare wage costs with revenue and account for parachute-payment status. For sporting context, compare the estimate with league position, while recognising that wages are only one factor in performance.
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Sources: Planet Football for the January 2025 Capology-based estimates; Deloitte’s Annual Review of Football Finance for Championship-wide figures and the wage-cost definition; and PSRwatch for its analysis of Leeds’ filed accounts.
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