SUNDERLAND · ALL-TIME EARNERS
The highest earners in the history of Sunderland
Jermain Defoe has earned $17.3m 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 $268.6m
PLAYERS RANKED115
NO LONGER AT THE CLUB93
YEARS2014-2026
The 20 biggest earners in Sunderland history
These 20 players took $156m between them, 58% of everything Sunderland has paid the players we hold a salary for.
Every Sunderland player we hold a salary for
Every player we hold a Sunderland salary 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 | $17.3m | 4 | 2015-2022 |
| 2 | Granit Xhaka Current squad | $12.6m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 3 | Nordi Mukiele Current squad | $9.9m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 4 | Enzo Le Fée Current squad | $9.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 5 | Lutsharel Geertruida | $9.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 6 | Omar Alderete Current squad | $8.8m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 7 | Reinildo Current squad | $8.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 8 | Brian Brobbey Current squad | $8.1m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 9 | Jack Rodwell | $7.5m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 10 | Habib Diarra Current squad | $7m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 11 | Daniel Ballard Current squad | $6.9m | 4 | 2023-2026 |
| 12 | Bertrand Traoré | $6.5m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 13 | Robin Roefs Current squad | $6.5m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 14 | Noah Sadiki Current squad | $6.1m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 15 | Luke O'Nien Current squad | $5.6m | 8 | 2019-2026 |
| 16 | Steven Fletcher | $5.6m | 2 | 2014-2015 |
| 17 | Chemsdine Talbi Current squad | $5.2m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 18 | Lamine Koné | $5.1m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 19 | Wilson Isidor Current squad | $5.1m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 20 | Aiden McGeady | $4.9m | 4 | 2018-2022 |
| 21 | Adnan Januzaj | $4.4m | 1 | 2017 |
| 22 | Dennis Cirkin | $4.4m | 5 | 2022-2026 |
| 23 | Fabio Borini | $4.4m | 1 | 2017 |
| 24 | Trai Hume Current squad | $4.2m | 5 | 2022-2026 |
| 25 | Jack Clarke | $3.9m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 26 | Liam Bridcutt | $3.4m | 2 | 2014-2015 |
| 27 | Nilson Angulo Current squad | $3.4m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 28 | Eliezer Mayenda | $3.3m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 29 | Jozy Altidore | $3.2m | 1 | 2014 |
| 30 | Craig Gardner | $2.9m | 1 | 2014 |
| 31 | Chris Rigg Current squad | $2.8m | 3 | 2024-2026 |
| 32 | Adam Matthews | $2.7m | 2 | 2018-2019 |
| 33 | Patrick Roberts | $2.6m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 34 | Romaine Mundle Current squad | $2.6m | 3 | 2024-2026 |
| 35 | Wahbi Khazri | $2.5m | 1 | 2017 |
| 36 | Paddy McNair | $2.3m | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 37 | Didier Ndong | $2.2m | 1 | 2017 |
| 38 | Danny Graham | $2.1m | 1 | 2015 |
| 39 | Javi Manquillo | $2.1m | 1 | 2017 |
| 40 | Melker Ellborg Current squad | $2.1m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 41 | Phil Bardsley | $2.1m | 1 | 2014 |
| 42 | Ahmed Abdullahi | $2m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 43 | Amad | $2m | 1 | 2023 |
| 44 | Brendan Galloway | $1.8m | 1 | 2018 |
| 45 | Milan Aleksić | $1.8m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 46 | Costel Pantilimon | $1.8m | 1 | 2015 |
| 47 | Jason Denayer | $1.8m | 1 | 2017 |
| 48 | Joe Gelhardt | $1.8m | 1 | 2023 |
| 49 | Vito Mannone | $1.8m | 1 | 2017 |
| 50 | Bailey Wright | $1.7m | 3 | 2020-2022 |
| 51 | Simon Moore Current squad | $1.7m | 2 | 2025-2026 |
| 52 | Anthony Patterson | $1.6m | 8 | 2017-2024 |
| 53 | Jordan Pickford | $1.4m | 1 | 2017 |
| 54 | Corry Evans | $1.3m | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 55 | Bradley Dack | $1.3m | 1 | 2024 |
| 56 | Dan Neil | $1.3m | 6 | 2019-2024 |
| 57 | Alex Pritchard | $1.2m | 2 | 2022-2023 |
| 58 | Callum McManaman | $1.2m | 1 | 2018 |
| 59 | Jocelin Ta Bi Current squad | $1.1m | 1 | 2026 |
| 60 | Jonny Williams | $1.1m | 1 | 2018 |
| 61 | Adil Aouchiche | $983k | 1 | 2024 |
| 62 | Ashley Fletcher | $913k | 1 | 2018 |
| 63 | Danny Batth | $899k | 2 | 2022-2023 |
| 64 | Will Grigg | $842k | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 65 | Niall Huggins | $821k | 3 | 2022-2024 |
| 66 | Jake Vokins | $702k | 1 | 2021 |
| 67 | Pierre Ekwah | $674k | 2 | 2023-2024 |
| 68 | Jason Steele | $639k | 1 | 2018 |
| 69 | Jordan Jones | $639k | 1 | 2021 |
| 70 | Ross Stewart | $639k | 3 | 2021-2023 |
| 71 | Aji Alese Current squad | $632k | 2 | 2023-2024 |
| 72 | Kazenga LuaLua | $632k | 1 | 2018 |
| 73 | Declan John | $590k | 1 | 2020 |
| 74 | Jon McLaughlin | $576k | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 75 | Jobe Bellingham | $569k | 1 | 2024 |
| 76 | Mason Burstow | $555k | 1 | 2024 |
| 77 | Timothée Pembélé | $534k | 1 | 2024 |
| 78 | Tyias Browning | $534k | 1 | 2018 |
| 79 | Lee Camp | $491k | 1 | 2018 |
| 80 | Aiden O'Brien | $456k | 1 | 2021 |
| 81 | Jenson Seelt | $428k | 1 | 2024 |
| 82 | Leo Fuhr Hjelde | $421k | 1 | 2024 |
| 83 | Nathan Bishop | $414k | 1 | 2024 |
| 84 | Callum Styles | $379k | 1 | 2024 |
| 85 | George Honeyman | $368k | 3 | 2017-2019 |
| 86 | George Dobson | $365k | 1 | 2020 |
| 87 | Ian Poveda Current squad | $358k | 1 | 2025 |
| 88 | Jake Clarke-Salter | $358k | 1 | 2018 |
| 89 | Lewis Morgan | $281k | 1 | 2019 |
| 90 | Antoine Semenyo | $246k | 1 | 2020 |
| 91 | Callum Doyle | $239k | 1 | 2022 |
| 92 | Dion Sanderson | $239k | 1 | 2021 |
| 93 | Edouard Michut | $232k | 1 | 2023 |
| 94 | Jimmy Dunne | $218k | 1 | 2019 |
| 95 | Nathan Broadhead | $204k | 1 | 2022 |
| 96 | Remi Matthews | $190k | 1 | 2021 |
| 97 | Bali Mumba | $183k | 2 | 2019-2020 |
| 98 | Joel Asoro | $154k | 2 | 2017-2018 |
| 99 | Joe Anderson | $147k | 1 | 2023 |
| 100 | Ovie Ejaria | $126k | 1 | 2018 |
Frequently asked questions
Who has earned the most money at Sunderland?
Jermain Defoe, with $17.3m across 4 seasons at Sunderland.
How is a career total worked out?
Each season counts the salary 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 salary for, from 2014 to 2026.