SUNDERLAND · ALL-TIME EARNERS
The highest earners in the history of Sunderland
Jermain Defoe has earned AU$24.2m at Sunderland across 4 seasons, more than any other player in our records. 7 of the twenty above have since left the club.
PAID TO THESE PLAYERS AU$376m
PLAYERS RANKED115
NO LONGER AT THE CLUB93
YEARS2014-2026
The 20 biggest earners in Sunderland history
These 20 players took AU$218.4m between them, 58% of everything Sunderland has paid the players we hold a wage for.
Every Sunderland player we hold a wage for
Every player we hold a Sunderland wage for, ranked on what the club has paid them. Totals run to the end of the 2025/26 season.
Tap a column heading to re-rank
| # | PLAYER | EARNED AT CLUB | SEASONS | YEARS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jermain Defoe | AU$24.2m | 4 | 2015-2022 |
| 2 | Granit Xhaka Current squad | AU$17.7m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 3 | Nordi Mukiele Current squad | AU$13.9m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 4 | Enzo Le Fée Current squad | AU$13.2m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 5 | Lutsharel Geertruida | AU$13.2m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 6 | Omar Alderete Current squad | AU$12.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 7 | Reinildo Current squad | AU$11.7m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 8 | Brian Brobbey Current squad | AU$11.3m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 9 | Jack Rodwell | AU$10.5m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 10 | Habib Diarra Current squad | AU$9.8m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 11 | Daniel Ballard Current squad | AU$9.6m | 4 | 2023-2026 |
| 12 | Bertrand Traoré | AU$9.1m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 13 | Robin Roefs Current squad | AU$9m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 14 | Noah Sadiki Current squad | AU$8.6m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 15 | Luke O'Nien Current squad | AU$7.9m | 8 | 2019-2026 |
| 16 | Steven Fletcher | AU$7.9m | 2 | 2014-2015 |
| 17 | Chemsdine Talbi Current squad | AU$7.3m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 18 | Lamine Koné | AU$7.2m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 19 | Wilson Isidor Current squad | AU$7.2m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 20 | Aiden McGeady | AU$6.9m | 4 | 2018-2022 |
| 21 | Adnan Januzaj | AU$6.2m | 1 | 2017 |
| 22 | Dennis Cirkin | AU$6.2m | 5 | 2022-2026 |
| 23 | Fabio Borini | AU$6.1m | 1 | 2017 |
| 24 | Trai Hume Current squad | AU$5.9m | 5 | 2022-2026 |
| 25 | Jack Clarke | AU$5.4m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 26 | Liam Bridcutt | AU$4.7m | 2 | 2014-2015 |
| 27 | Nilson Angulo Current squad | AU$4.7m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 28 | Eliezer Mayenda | AU$4.6m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 29 | Jozy Altidore | AU$4.4m | 1 | 2014 |
| 30 | Craig Gardner | AU$4.1m | 1 | 2014 |
| 31 | Chris Rigg Current squad | AU$4m | 3 | 2024-2026 |
| 32 | Adam Matthews | AU$3.7m | 2 | 2018-2019 |
| 33 | Patrick Roberts | AU$3.6m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 34 | Romaine Mundle Current squad | AU$3.6m | 3 | 2024-2026 |
| 35 | Wahbi Khazri | AU$3.5m | 1 | 2017 |
| 36 | Paddy McNair | AU$3.2m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 37 | Didier Ndong | AU$3.1m | 1 | 2017 |
| 38 | Danny Graham | AU$2.9m | 1 | 2015 |
| 39 | Javi Manquillo | AU$2.9m | 1 | 2017 |
| 40 | Melker Ellborg Current squad | AU$2.9m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 41 | Phil Bardsley | AU$2.9m | 1 | 2014 |
| 42 | Ahmed Abdullahi | AU$2.8m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 43 | Amad | AU$2.8m | 1 | 2023 |
| 44 | Brendan Galloway | AU$2.6m | 1 | 2018 |
| 45 | Milan Aleksić | AU$2.6m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 46 | Costel Pantilimon | AU$2.5m | 1 | 2015 |
| 47 | Jason Denayer | AU$2.5m | 1 | 2017 |
| 48 | Joe Gelhardt | AU$2.5m | 1 | 2023 |
| 49 | Vito Mannone | AU$2.5m | 1 | 2017 |
| 50 | Bailey Wright | AU$2.4m | 3 | 2020-2022 |
| 51 | Simon Moore Current squad | AU$2.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 52 | Anthony Patterson | AU$2.2m | 8 | 2017-2024 |
| 53 | Jordan Pickford | AU$2m | 1 | 2017 |
| 54 | Corry Evans | AU$1.9m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 55 | Bradley Dack | AU$1.8m | 1 | 2024 |
| 56 | Dan Neil | AU$1.8m | 6 | 2019-2024 |
| 57 | Alex Pritchard | AU$1.7m | 2 | 2022-2023 |
| 58 | Callum McManaman | AU$1.7m | 1 | 2018 |
| 59 | Jocelin Ta Bi Current squad | AU$1.5m | 1 | 2026 |
| 60 | Jonny Williams | AU$1.5m | 1 | 2018 |
| 61 | Adil Aouchiche | AU$1.4m | 1 | 2024 |
| 62 | Ashley Fletcher | AU$1.3m | 1 | 2018 |
| 63 | Danny Batth | AU$1.3m | 2 | 2022-2023 |
| 64 | Will Grigg | AU$1.2m | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 65 | Niall Huggins | AU$1.1m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 66 | Jake Vokins | AU$983k | 1 | 2021 |
| 67 | Pierre Ekwah | AU$943k | 2 | 2023-2024 |
| 68 | Jason Steele | AU$894k | 1 | 2018 |
| 69 | Jordan Jones | AU$894k | 1 | 2021 |
| 70 | Ross Stewart | AU$894k | 3 | 2021-2023 |
| 71 | Aji Alese Current squad | AU$885k | 2 | 2023-2024 |
| 72 | Kazenga LuaLua | AU$885k | 1 | 2018 |
| 73 | Declan John | AU$826k | 1 | 2020 |
| 74 | Jon McLaughlin | AU$806k | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 75 | Jobe Bellingham | AU$796k | 1 | 2024 |
| 76 | Mason Burstow | AU$776k | 1 | 2024 |
| 77 | Timothée Pembélé | AU$747k | 1 | 2024 |
| 78 | Tyias Browning | AU$747k | 1 | 2018 |
| 79 | Lee Camp | AU$688k | 1 | 2018 |
| 80 | Aiden O'Brien | AU$639k | 1 | 2021 |
| 81 | Jenson Seelt | AU$600k | 1 | 2024 |
| 82 | Leo Fuhr Hjelde | AU$590k | 1 | 2024 |
| 83 | Nathan Bishop | AU$580k | 1 | 2024 |
| 84 | Callum Styles | AU$531k | 1 | 2024 |
| 85 | George Honeyman | AU$515k | 3 | 2017-2019 |
| 86 | George Dobson | AU$511k | 1 | 2020 |
| 87 | Ian Poveda Current squad | AU$501k | 1 | 2025 |
| 88 | Jake Clarke-Salter | AU$501k | 1 | 2018 |
| 89 | Lewis Morgan | AU$393k | 1 | 2019 |
| 90 | Antoine Semenyo | AU$344k | 1 | 2020 |
| 91 | Callum Doyle | AU$334k | 1 | 2022 |
| 92 | Dion Sanderson | AU$334k | 1 | 2021 |
| 93 | Edouard Michut | AU$324k | 1 | 2023 |
| 94 | Jimmy Dunne | AU$305k | 1 | 2019 |
| 95 | Nathan Broadhead | AU$285k | 1 | 2022 |
| 96 | Remi Matthews | AU$265k | 1 | 2021 |
| 97 | Bali Mumba | AU$256k | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 98 | Joel Asoro | AU$216k | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 99 | Joe Anderson | AU$206k | 1 | 2023 |
| 100 | Ovie Ejaria | AU$177k | 1 | 2018 |
Frequently asked questions
Who has earned the most money at Sunderland?
Jermain Defoe, with AU$24.2m across 4 seasons at Sunderland.
How is a career total worked out?
Each season counts the wage the club paid that year, added to every other season we hold. A player who moved mid-season has that year credited to the club paying him more. Totals run to the end of the 2025/26 season.
How far back does this go?
It covers the 115 players we hold a Sunderland wage for, from 2014 to 2026.