What a football scout earns
A football scout earns a median £840 a week, which is £43,680 a year. That is the middle of the 1,416 scouts we hold a wage for, at 441 clubs. One in ten earns more than £3,100 a week.
It is the 12th best paid of the 19 backroom jobs we hold a page for, and above the £840 median for football club staff as a whole.
The pay ladder for a football scout
All 1,416 scouts, from the lowest-paid tenth to the highest
| WHERE THE WAGE FALLS | WEEKLY | YEARLY |
|---|---|---|
| One in ten earns less than | £330 | £17,160 |
| One in four earns less than | £570 | £29,640 |
| The median | £840 | £43,680 |
| One in four earns more than | £1,600 | £83,200 |
| One in ten earns more than | £3,100 | £161,200 |
What a scout earns in each league
The 34 leagues where we hold wages for five or more scouts at three or more clubs
| # | LEAGUE | COUNTRY | STAFF | CLUBS | WEEKLY | YEARLY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ligue 1 | France | 51 | 16 | £3,100 | £161,200 |
| 2 | Serie A | Italy | 129 | 20 | £2,900 | £150,800 |
| 3 | La Liga | Spain | 59 | 17 | £2,900 | £150,800 |
| 4 | Danish Superliga | Denmark | 7 | 7 | £2,100 | £109,200 |
| 5 | La Liga 2 | Spain | 20 | 14 | £1,900 | £98,800 |
| 6 | Eredivisie | Netherlands | 45 | 14 | £1,600 | £83,200 |
| 7 | J1 League | Japan | 10 | 5 | £1,400 | £72,800 |
| 8 | Primeira Liga | Portugal | 38 | 13 | £1,350 | £70,200 |
| 9 | Premier League | England | 200 | 20 | £1,000 | £52,000 |
| 10 | Ligue 2 | France | 21 | 12 | £1,000 | £52,000 |
| 11 | Bundesliga | Germany | 167 | 18 | £920 | £47,840 |
| 12 | 2. Bundesliga | Germany | 70 | 17 | £890 | £46,280 |
| 13 | Serie B | Italy | 71 | 23 | £790 | £41,080 |
| 14 | Eliteserien | Norway | 21 | 12 | £780 | £40,560 |
| 15 | Belgian Pro League | Belgium | 36 | 14 | £770 | £40,040 |
| 16 | Championship | England | 79 | 22 | £710 | £36,920 |
| 17 | Czech First League | Czechia | 7 | 5 | £710 | £36,920 |
| 18 | Major League Soccer | USA | 45 | 25 | £660 | £34,320 |
| 19 | League One | England | 43 | 16 | £650 | £33,800 |
| 20 | Scottish Premiership | Scotland | 22 | 7 | £620 | £32,240 |
| 21 | League Two | England | 23 | 11 | £520 | £27,040 |
| 22 | Belgian Challenger Pro League | Belgium | 9 | 6 | £440 | £22,880 |
| 23 | Croatian First League | Croatia | 6 | 3 | £430 | £22,360 |
| 24 | Süper Lig | Türkiye | 18 | 10 | £400 | £20,800 |
| 25 | Russian Premier League | Russia | 18 | 12 | £390 | £20,280 |
| 26 | Brasileirão Série A | Brazil | 22 | 10 | £370 | £19,240 |
| 27 | Liga MX | Mexico | 32 | 13 | £340 | £17,680 |
| 28 | National League | England | 5 | 4 | £340 | £17,680 |
| 29 | Super Liga | Argentina | 35 | 16 | £310 | £16,120 |
| 30 | Categoría Primera A | Colombia | 13 | 9 | £300 | £15,600 |
| 31 | Superleague Greece | Greece | 5 | 3 | £270 | £14,040 |
| 32 | Ekstraklasa | Poland | 19 | 9 | £250 | £13,000 |
| 33 | Scottish Championship | Scotland | 5 | 5 | £200 | £10,400 |
| 34 | Austrian Bundesliga | Austria | 15 | 5 | £110 | £5,720 |
Where a scout is paid most
Median weekly wage by league, the top fifteen
Ligue 1 pays a scout a median £3,100 a week, and the Austrian Bundesliga £110, so the same job pays 28.2 times as much at one end of the table as the other. The Premier League is ninth at £1,000, drawn from 200 scouts at 20 clubs.
A Premier League scout's wage, season by season
The scouts at the clubs in the Premier League today, 2016/17 to 2025/26
The median was £1,000 a week in 2016/17 and £1,000 in 2025/26, no change across 10 seasons.
Against every other backroom job
Median weekly wage by role, scout highlighted
Scout ranks 12th of the 21 roles on the chart. It pays £0 a week more than the median member of a club backroom.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a football scout earn?
A median £840 a week, which is £43,680 a year. That is the middle of the 1,416 scouts we hold a wage for, at 441 clubs.
How much does a Premier League scout earn?
A median £1,000 a week, which is £52,000 a year, across the 200 scouts we hold a wage for at 20 Premier League clubs.
What do the best-paid scouts earn?
One in ten earns more than £3,100 a week, which is £161,200 a year. One in four earns more than £1,600 a week.
Which league pays a scout the most?
Ligue 1, at a median £3,100 a week across 51 scouts. The lowest of the 34 leagues we can pool is the Austrian Bundesliga, at £110.
Is a scout paid more than other football club staff?
Yes. A scout earns a median £840 a week against £840 for backroom staff as a whole, which makes it the 12th best paid of the 19 roles we hold a page for.
Where to next
Every backroom job we hold a page for, by department
Coaching
Medical and sports science
Scouting and analysis
Management and administration
Football club staff salaries puts every role, department and league on one page. The managers are on pages of their own.