Wrexham have won promotion to the Championship and will need to open their wallets if they are to compete in the second tier.
History was made over the weekend when the Red Dragons won a third straight promotion to secure their place in England’s second division for the first time since the 1980s.
The 2025 summer window transfer dates were revealed earlier this year as well, with Wrexham already knowing when they can begin to bring in new faces.
Wrexham need six to nine signings this summer, according to former player Wayne Phillips.
Meanwhile, there has already been talk of the Welsh outfit reaching the Premier League in the near future.
Ben Foster tips Wrexham for promotion to the top flight within the space of five years. But if they are going to achieve what would be an incredible feat, it’s clear a lot more money needs to be spent.
Highest-earning Wrexham player compared to top Championship clubs
Wrexham have around £40m to spend in the 2025/26 season, if they wish to do so.
And while breaking their transfer record would be nice, a lot of that outlay will likely have to go on wages.
This is evident when looking at the current top-six clubs in the Championship and how much their top earners (excluding loan players) are earning.
For reference, Jay Rodriguez is Wrexham’s highest paid player right now, taking home £15,000-a-week or £780,000-a-year.
Meanwhile, the average yearly salary of the current top-six highest earners is £2,010,666.67.
That is a £1,230,666.67 difference between Wrexham right now and the sides who are competing at the top end of the division.
| Team (current league position) | Player | Annual salary |
| Leeds United (1st, promoted) | Patrick Bamford | £3,640,000 |
| Burnley (2nd, promoted) | Josh Brownhill | £2,340,000 |
| Sheffield United (3rd) | Rhian Brewster | £1,820,000 |
| Sunderland (4th) | Daniel Ballard | £1,300,000 |
| Bristol City (5th) | Nahki Wells | £1,404,000 |
| Coventry City (6th) | Luis Binks | £1,560,000 |
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Wrexham ready to go big on wages in Championship
Money doesn’t always equal success, just asked Manchester United fans, but it is a clear indicator that if Wrexham want to be pushing for a top-end place in the Championship, their wage outlay needs a big increase.
On this front, however, it seems Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds are more than willing to open their cheque books.
Humphrey Ker shared in March that Wrexham will quadruple their wage bill if promotion to the second tier was secured, and revealed how Rob and Ryan reacted to that plan at the time it was discussed.
He said: “This was something that was discussed very early on this season in terms of what it would likely end up costing. Everybody is very aware of what would be required, which is good.
“When we had that Zoom, I watched like a hawk and I was looking at Rob and Ryan’s boxes to see what their faces do when these kinds of sums come up. They both looked very calm, which was good.”