Brighton’s average wages leave them 16th in the Premier League

If the Premier League were to finish based on a clubs average wage come May next year, then Brighton and Hove Albion would end the campaign just two places above the relegation zone.

The 2018 Global Sports Salaries Survey has revealed that the Albion pay an average annual salary of £1,695,040. Of the 20 top flight teams, only Newcastle United, Burnley, Huddersfield and Cardiff City pay their players less.

The Albion’s current position of 12th is four places higher than what the wage bill should deliver. Our four victories this season so far have come against Newcastle whose average is £45,000 less than the Albion’s, Wolverhampton Wanderers whose players take home around £60,000 more a year, West Ham United where the average player earns twice as much as his Brighton counterparts and Manchester United where players earn a staggering £6,534,654 each per year.

That figure means that United’s current underachievers are the highest paid in the league, earning over three times as much as the current Albion squad and taking home on average half a million quid more than Manchester City. And yet Jose Mourinho still thinks he hasn’t been given enough money, bless.

Some other interesting facts to come from the survey were that two of the three promoted clubs in Wolves and Fulham are paying out more than the Albion, Cardiff are the only Premier League side whose average player’s earnings don’t top a million pounds while our friends up the road pay their squad one and a half times more than we do, with Christian Benteke and the rest of the groovy gang taking home an average of £2,757,000. That makes Crystal Palace the ninth biggest spenders, so clearly they’re getting value for money at the moment.

The findings should offer a reminder of what a good job Chris Hughton is doing at a time when some dissenting voices are beginning to be heard on the terraces.

There were boos at the end of Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Leicester City (£2,710,710) and some Albion supporters have openly said they expect a top 10 finish this season. What they’re basing that on is anybodies guess, but it certainly cannot be financial might as unfortunately, the money that the Albion are paying out doesn’t match up with that pipe dream.

Jamie Vardy and company are the 10th best paid team and they each take home over a million pound a year more than Glenn Murray and company do. That puts getting a draw against Claude Puel’s side into perpsective, playing against 10 men for over an hour aside

Clearly, the Albion have a long way to go in terms of spending if we are to crack the top half of the table. Right now, the wages we pay are just about enough to survive and as long as Hughton keeps us on track to do that, then he’s doing a good job.

The paper published alongside the survey touches on this. With the top six so far ahead of everyone else, it states that towards the bottom of the league, “intrigue lies with who will be most successful applying non-financial resources – coaching and tactical nous; motivational skills; dietary, fitness and recovery techniques. Wages alone would see Cardiff, Huddersfield and Burnley drop – and if they don’t that is testament to managers punching above their weight.”

Of course, Hughton isn’t above criticism and sometimes the negativity of his approach has to be questioned. But given how we are relative paupers in a league awash with cash, the job he continues to do as a manager punching above his weight is a remarkable one.

Barcelona topped the list with their players averaging an annual pay packed of £10,454,259. Real Madrid were second with £8,089,582, Juventus ninth on £6,726,615 and United down in the 10th. The six other sports teams that made up the top 10 were all from the NBA as a result of that league’s massive television deal which kicked in for their 20160-17 season.

The full Premier League list is as follows:

1) Manchester United – £6,534,654
2) Manchester City – £5,993,000
3) Chelsea – £5,020,004
4) Liverpool £4,862,963
5) Arsenal £4,853,130
6) Tottenham Hotspur £3,515,778
7) Everton £3,252,690
8) West Ham United £3,189,333
9) Crystal Palace £2,757,000
10) Leicester City £2,710,710
11) Southampton £2,669,333
12) Plucky Little Bournemouth £1,989,520 and a handful of magic beans
13) Watford £1,775,172
14) Wolverhampton Wanderers £1,757,600
15) Fulham £1,727,440
16) Brighton £1,695,040
17) Newcastle United £1,650,133
18) Burnley £1,603,197
19) Huddersfield Town £1,238,000
20) Cardiff City £957,471