Stoke City have not been wise with their money in years gone by, but their spending has been reduced over years of stagnation in the Championship, with a much tighter budget nowadays compared to that of six years ago when they were relegated from the Premier League.
The Potters have struggled in the Championship in years gone by, and the club has had to reduce their wage budget considerably in recent times as a result of their unimpressive form year-on-year.
Stoke brought in numerous new faces in the summer transfer window in the hope of a more successful season, and with the help of Capology, we are taking a look at how much the Potters spend on their players' wages each week on average, and then comparing that to other second-tier teams.
It must be taken into consideration that the data provided by Capology are estimations and not official figures.
How much Stoke City spend on wages every week on average
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According to Capology's estimates, Stoke spend £293,500 on wages for their playing squad every week, which works out at £15,262,000 per year, and makes sense given the club's sizeable finances compared to their under-performance in recent seasons.
The club's average weekly salary paid to their players is £10,121, while the average annual salary that Potters' players pick up is estimated to be around £526,276 per year.
Capology state that club-captain centre-back Ben Gibson is the highest earner in the Stoke first-team squad for this season, on an estimated £35,000 per week, which makes up 11.9% of the club's entire player wage bill.
He is the Potters' estimated highest earner by some way, with striker Sam Gallagher in second on £25,000 per week after his move from Blackburn Rovers in the summer, while fellow centre-back Ben Wilmot is Stoke's third-highest weekly earner, based on Capology's estimates, on £20,000 per week.
Stoke City's wage bill compared to the rest of the Championship
Stoke have the 11th-biggest wage bill in the Championship this season, based on estimates, and Capology claim that Leeds United pay their players the most on average for this term, at £708,000 per week across the whole squad, which is a huge jump from second place Burnley, who pay their squad an estimated gross amount of £596,000 every week.
There is a running theme in the top Championship wage bills, in that most of the teams have played in the top flight in the last few years, with West Brom, Sheffield United, Luton Town, Norwich City, Watford and Cardiff City all making up the top eight, having played in the Premier League more recently than the Potters.
Middlesbrough and Sheffield Wednesday make up the top ten above Stoke, with the Owls at £297,038 per week, and Hull City are just below the Potters at an estimated £285,162 per week, according to Capology.
Championship wage bills per week, according to Capology
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The rest of the teams below the Tigers all pay a relatively similar gross amount to their playing squads, from Bristol City in 13th at £260,077, to QPR in 22nd at £208,462.
The bottom two teams are each recent League One promotion winners in Plymouth Argyle and Portsmouth, who pay their players a gross amount of £172,800 and 138,500 each week respectively.
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