The Premier League may well be the peak of English football, but the Championship is also regarded as one of the best leagues in Europe, and there is plenty of money on offer in the second tier.
With relegated sides having the luxury of parachute payments, there are a number of big earners who end up remaining on the books, and we've looked into the salaries of the top earners in the Championship.
1.
Jamie Vardy
Leicester City
2024
£140,000
2.
Harry Winks
Leicester City
2026
£90,000
3.
Kelechi Iheanacho
Leicester City
2024
£80,000
4.
Aaron Ramsey
Cardiff City
2025
£80,000
5.
Ricardo Pereira
Leicester City
2026
£80,000
6.
Conor Coady
Leicester City
2026
£75,000
7.
Patson Daka
Leicester City
2026
£75,000
8.
Wilfred Ndidi
Leicester City
2024
£75,000
9.
Dennis Praet
Leicester City
2024
£75,000
10.
Patrick Bamford
Leeds United
2026
£70,000
11.
Joe Aribo
Southampton
2026
£70,000
12.
Jannik Vestergaard
Leicester City
2024
£70,000
13.
Georginio Rutter
Leeds United
2028
£70,000
14.
Brandon Williams
Ipswich Town (loan)
2024
£65,000
15.
Nathaniel Phillips
Cardiff City (loan)
2024
£65,000
16.
Stuart Armstrong
Southampton
2024
£65,000
17.
Junior Firpo
Leeds United
2025
£60,000
18.
Jan Bednarek
Southampton
2025
£60,000
19.
Adam Armstrong
Southampton
2025
£55,000
20.
Daniel James
Leeds United
2026
£50,000
21.
David Brooks
Southampton (loan)
2024
£50,000
22.
Alex McCarthy
Southampton
2024
£50,000
23.
Pascal Struijk
Leeds United
2027
£50,000
24.
Hamza Choudhury
Leicester City
2027
£50,000
25.
Wout Faes
Leicester City
2027
£50,000
Highest Championship wage bills Leicester City – £1.1m-a-week
The Foxes comfortably top the table when it comes to salaries and are the only side in the Championship to pay a total above £1m-a-week.
As mentioned, Jamie Vardy and summer signing Harry Winks are earning huge weekly salaries at the King Power Stadium, but 14 players are actually picking up a pay packet greater than £40,000-a-week, showing the huge gap in financial power between Leicester and the majority of the division.
Southampton – £773,000-a-week
Southampton sold some star players last summer after being relegated, including James Ward-Prowse and Romeo Lavia, who joined West Ham and Chelsea. However, the Saints managed to keep hold of the likes of Joe Aribo, Stuart Armstrong, Adam Armstrong and Jan Bednarek.
They also brought in winger David Brooks from Bournemouth on loan in January, taking their total weekly wage bill to almost three-quarters of a million pounds.
Leeds United – £694,000-a-week
As expected, the most recently relegated teams from the Premier League top the charts in the second tier, with Leeds United taking third spot. The Whites lost a number of their players on loan over the summer due to relegation release clauses, however, they kept hold of the likes of Georginio Rutter, Patrick Bamford and Dan James.
There was a change of ownership, a new manager in Daniel Farke and a number of new signings brought in over the summer, with Leeds forking out almost £700,000-a-week on their playing squad at Elland Road.
West Bromwich Albion – £455,000-a-week
Another club who are used to the highs and lows of promotion and relegation in recent years are West Brom. The Baggies, now under new ownership at The Hawthorns, didn't splash the cash last summer on transfer fees but have one of the biggest books when it comes to salaries.
In total, 12 players of Carlos Corberan's squad pick up more than £20,000-a-week, with Adam Reach the top earner on £40,000-a-week.
Norwich City – £400,000-a-week
Norwich City have been promoted and relegated on a number of occasions over the last 10 years, becoming one of the specialist 'yo-yo' clubs. They were last in the Premier League in 2022, and now, under David Wagner, are pushing for yet another promotion.
The Canaries, as a result, are one of the clubs who can pay a high salary in the division, with centre-back Ben Gibson their highest earner on £40,000-a-week.
1.
Leicester City
£1.1m
2.
Southampton
£773,000
3.
Leeds United
£694,000
4.
West Bromwich Albion
£455,000
5.
Norwich City
£400,000
6.
Cardiff City
£385,000
7.
Stoke City
£337,000
8.
Hull City
£306,000
9.
Middlesbrough
£303,000
10.
Sheffield Wednesday
£300,000
11.
Watford
£273,000
12.
Birmingham City
£258,000
13.
Queens Park Rangers
£241,000
14.
Ipswich Town
£234,000
15.
Bristol City
£230,000
16.
Millwall
£230,000
17.
Swansea City
£211,000
18.
Preston North End
£196,000
19.
Huddersfield Town
£183,000
20.
Coventry City
£181,000
21.
Sunderland
£172,000
22.
Blackburn Rovers
£158,000
23.
Rotherham United
£150,000
24.
Plymouth Argyle
£109,000