How Cardiff City's wage bill compares to Championship rivals and League One teams they're joining

Wales Online

30-04-2025

How Cardiff City's wage bill compares to Championship rivals and League One teams they're joining
The numbers suggest Cardiff shouldn't be anywhere near the bottom of the table
CARDIFF, WALES - APRIL 26: Ollie Tanner (L) and Yousef Salech of Cardiff City (R) react at full time as they get relegated to League One during the Sky Bet Championship match between Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion at the Cardiff City Stadium on April 26, 2025 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by)
(Image: Getty Images )
Whichever way you look at it, relegation to League One is nothing short of disastrous for Cardiff City.
After circling the drain for the last few weeks, or years, really, the Bluebirds' fate was finally confirmed by the 0-0 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion, a result that also leaves them bottom of the table heading into the final weekend of the season.
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Supporters have reacted with a mixture of dismay and anger at watching their side slip out of the second tier for the first time in 22 years, with owner Vincent Tan bearing the brunt of the criticism.
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Tan finally broke his silence by releasing a statement to fans on Tuesday, in which he dismissed accusations he didn't care, while also pledging to carry out a full review of "several structures and practices". Join the Cardiff City breaking news and top stories WhatsApp community.
Answers are clearly needed, as many will be wondering just how on earth Cardiff ended up in this situation. Finances certainly don't seem to be the main issue. Indeed, Cardiff, when it comes to the amount spent on wages, at least, have actually been pretty competitive.
According to figures gathered by Football Industry website Capology.com, Cardiff's annual wage bill currently stands at £20.91m. That's the seventh-highest in the Championship, and well ahead of all their relegation rivals, ex-Premier League outfit Luton Town (£23.6m) aside.
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It's also ahead of teams like Sunderland (£14.9m), Bristol City (£11.57m), Coventry City (£12.66m), Millwall (£15.32m), and Blackburn Rovers (£15.37), who are all occupying fourth to eighth place in the Championship, with dreams of a promotion to the Premier League still alive.
Portsmouth have the lowest wage bill at (£8.44m), yet they will spend the summer preparing for another season in the second tier under John Mousinho, followed by 23rd-placed Plymouth Argyle (£9.71m).
Hull City are the closest of Cardiff's relegation rivals to matching their wage bill, with the Tigers spending £18.83m. But Preston (£11.77m), Derby (£11.74m) and Stoke (£15.74m) are all some way behind.
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Many will feel the figures demonstrate the scale of underachievement from a Cardiff squad that shouldn't be anywhere near the relegation battle. Others will argue it points to a hopeless overvaluation of a poor collection of players.
Either way, it further underlines the sense that key decisions have been fudged, which will in turn further fuel the accusations of a complete and fundamental failure of leadership at the club.
Dropping out of the Championship is painful enough from a footballing point of view. But Tan, and indeed supporters, will be well aware that there will be financial implications too.
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Cardiff stand to lose millions in TV rights and sponsorships in League One, not to mention a likely drop-off in attendances.
A raft of players are also likely to leave, (you can read more about that here) meaning it's difficult to really know what sort of state this squad will be in when a first ball is kicked.
Nevertheless, the figures suggest that even if they were to halve their overall wage bill, Cardiff should have enough financial resource to compete at the top end of the third tier.
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Birmingham City and Wrexham, for all the headlines around their big spending, were promoted with annual wage bills of £16.02m and £10,67m respectively.
But as this season has already proved, throwing money at the club doesn't yield results on its own. Sign up to our daily Cardiff City newsletter here.
The same will be true in League One. Huddersfield Town (£11.45m), for example, were second only to runaway leaders Birmingham in the amount they spent on wages. They can finish no higher than eighth.
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Stockport County (£6.34m), Wycombe Wanderers (£6.26m), Charlton (£5.78m), Leyton Orient (£5.11m), and even basket case club Reading (£4.91m), have all managed to string top-six pushes together on comparatively meagre budgets.
Meanwhile, bigger spending sides like Rotherham (£7.13m), Wigan (£7.08m) and Bolton (6.76m) have all been left languishing in midtable. Cambridge United, like Cardiff, are the league's seventh highest spenders at (£6.46m). Like Cardiff, they have also been relegated with one game to spare.
Anyone assuming, on the back of this season's top two, that it's possible to merely spend your way out of League One might well be in for a shock. But if the Bluebirds are going to head back to the Championship at the first time of asking, the chance are they'll have to be there or thereabouts in terms of next year's wages table.