LEAGUE ONE · 2021/22 · ARCHIVE
Reading 2021/22 - player wages
Wages as they stood in 2021/22 · top earner Danny Drinkwater on £120,000 per week · see the current Reading wage bill
WEEKLY WAGE BILL £393k
YEARLY WAGE BILL £20m
SQUAD SIZE68
AVERAGE WEEKLY, 22+ £18k
Then and now
Reading pay £141,329 a week in 2026/27 — 64% lower than the £393,450 of 2021/22.
Where the money went in 2021/22
Share of the weekly wage bill by position group · 5 players cover two groups and are counted half in each
2021/22 squad salaries
| Watch | PLAYER | WEEKLY ▼ | YEARLY | AGE | POSITION | NATION | EXPIRES | COMPARE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Danny Drinkwater | £120,000 | £6,240,000 | 31 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Baba Rahman | £89,000 | £4,628,000 | 27 | Left-back | Ghana | JUN 2023 | ||
| Thomas Ince | £27,000 | £1,404,000 | 29 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| John Swift | £25,000 | £1,300,000 | 26 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Lucas João | £15,000 | £780,000 | 27 | Striker | Portugal | JUN 2023 | ||
| Ovie Ejaria | £14,000 | £728,000 | 23 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2024 | ||
| Yakou Meïté | £11,000 | £572,000 | 25 | Right winger, striker | Côte d’Ivoire | JUN 2023 | ||
| Andy Yiadom | £7,500 | £390,000 | 29 | Full-back | Ghana | JUN 2022 | ||
| Michael Morrison | £6,900 | £358,800 | 33 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Brandon Barker | £6,500 | £338,000 | 24 | Winger | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Alen Halilovic | £6,500 | £338,000 | 25 | Attacking midfielder | Croatia | JUN 2022 | ||
| Junior Hoilett | £6,100 | £317,200 | 31 | Winger | Canada | JUN 2022 | ||
| Scott Dann | £5,600 | £291,200 | 34 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Felipe Araruna | £5,300 | £275,600 | 25 | Right-back, defensive midfielder | Brazil | JUN 2022 | ||
| Marc McNulty | £4,900 | £254,800 | 28 | Striker | Scotland | JUN 2022 | ||
| Tom Dele-Bashiru | £4,600 | £239,200 | 21 | Defensive midfielder, attacking midfielder | Nigeria | JUN 2025 | ||
| Ørjan Nyland | £4,000 | £208,000 | 30 | Goalkeeper | Norway | JUN 2022 | ||
| Tom McIntyre | £3,600 | £187,200 | 22 | Centre-back | Scotland | JUN 2024 | ||
| Andy Rinomhota | £3,500 | £182,000 | 24 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Josh Laurent | £3,100 | £161,200 | 26 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Karl Hein | £3,000 | £156,000 | 19 | Goalkeeper | Estonia | JUN 2025 | ||
| Coniah Boyce-Clarke | £2,400 | £124,800 | 18 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Dejan Tetek | £2,400 | £124,800 | 18 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Jökull Andrésson | £2,100 | £109,200 | 19 | Goalkeeper | Iceland | JUN 2024 | ||
| Tyrell Ashcroft | £1,600 | £83,200 | 19 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Luke Southwood | £1,000 | £52,000 | 23 | Goalkeeper | N.Ireland | JUN 2023 | ||
| Femi Azeez | £950 | £49,400 | 20 | Winger, striker | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Claudio Osorio | £730 | £37,960 | 18 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Tom Holmes | £600 | £31,200 | 21 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Imari Samuels | £520 | £27,040 | 18 | Full-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Kacper Kowalczyk | £500 | £26,000 | 19 | Goalkeeper | Poland | JUN 2022 | ||
| Michael Stickland | £480 | £24,960 | 17 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2024 | ||
| Nahum Melvin-Lambert | £470 | £24,440 | 18 | Striker | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Nelson Abbey | £470 | £24,440 | 17 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Ethan Bristow | £460 | £23,920 | 19 | Left-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| James Holden | £460 | £23,920 | 19 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Harvey Collins | £430 | £22,360 | 18 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Kelvin Ehibhatiomhan | £400 | £20,800 | 18 | Attacking midfielder, striker | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Kian Leavy | £400 | £20,800 | 19 | Attacking midfielder | Ireland | JUN 2022 | ||
| Lynford Sackey | £390 | £20,280 | 18 | Right wing-back, right winger | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Rashawn Scott | £380 | £19,760 | 18 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Malachi Talent-Aryeetey | £380 | £19,760 | 18 | Central midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Mamadi Camará | £330 | £17,160 | 18 | Attacking midfielder | Guinea-Bissau | JUN 2023 | ||
| Tom Norcott | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Jacob Borgnis | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Zion Nditi | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Right-back | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Hamid Abdel-Salam | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Right-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Ajani Giscombe | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2024 | ||
| Jeremiah Okine-Peters | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Right winger | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Harvey Maudner | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Kyle Daniel-Spray | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Jay Senga | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | Belgium | JUN 2022 | ||
| Jordan Addo-Antoine | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Left-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| David Nyarko | £140 | £7,280 | 18 | Attacking midfielder, striker | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Toby Mawer | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Matt Rowley | £140 | £7,280 | 18 | Goalkeeper | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Ryley Campbell | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Attacking midfielder | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Troy Murray | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Kelvin Abrefa | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Ben Purcell | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Defensive midfielder | Wales | JUN 2022 | ||
| Sam Paul | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Right-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Aston Greaver | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Striker | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Harrison Furlong | £140 | £7,280 | 15 | Central midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Louie Holzman | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Jahmari Clarke | £140 | £7,280 | 17 | Striker | England | JUN 2022 | ||
| Louis Hutchings | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Centre-back, defensive midfielder | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Abraham Kanu | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Centre-back | England | JUN 2023 | ||
| Caylan Vickers | £140 | £7,280 | 16 | Attacking midfielder, striker | England | JUN 2023 | ||
Wage vs age, 2021/22
Each dot is a player - top-left is expensive and young
£120k £79k £40k 0
1722273136
AGE
Squad wage pyramid
Players per wage band in the 2021/22 squad, against the share of the bill they took
PLAYERS WEEKLY WAGE SHARE OF BILL
42 Under £1k 3%
2 £1k-£2k 1%
10 £2k-£5k 9%
7 £5k-£10k 11%
3 £10k-£25k 10%
3 £25k-£100k 36%
1 £100k+
30%
Top 5 earners took 70% of the squad wage bill, across the 68 players we hold a 2021/22 wage for.
Contract expiries
When the 2021/22 deals were due to run out
Frequently asked questions
Reading wages, 2021/22
What was Reading's wage bill in 2021/22?
Reading paid £393,450 a week in 2021/22 - £20,459,400 across the year - spread over a squad of 68. We hold a wage for all 68 players in that squad.
Who was the highest paid Reading player in 2021/22?
Danny Drinkwater was the highest earner in the 2021/22 squad on £120,000 a week, 6.6x the 22+ squad average of £18,275.
What was the average Reading salary in 2021/22?
The average Reading player aged 22 or over earned £18,275 a week in 2021/22, across the 20 we hold a wage for, against a squad of 68. The top five earners took 70% of the bill between them.
How do Reading's 2021/22 wages compare with now?
Reading pay £141,329 a week in 2026/27, 64% lower than the £393,450 of 2021/22. The current squad is 72 players against 68 then.