How much are women's footballers paid?

Aitana Bonmati
Aitana Bonmati has won the Ballon d'Or and FIFA Best awards back-to-back (Image credit: Getty Images)

The question of how much are women's footballers paid varies massively depending on what league they play in and what club they play for. 

Many top flight women's leagues across the world are now professional, but what that amounts to in salary can vary significantly.

So what is the average salary? And how does the WSL compare to other leagues? Here's all you need to know. 

Women's footballer salaries

Sam Kerr of Chelsea poses for a portrait during the Chelsea FC Portraits Session at Chelsea Training Ground on September 17, 2024 in Cobham, England.

Sam Kerr is one of the highest paid players in the world (Image credit: Shane Anthony Sinclair - UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)

In the Women's Super League the average women's footballer salary is thought to be around £47,000. That amount emerged after an investigation by the BBC.

Starting salaries are supposedly around £20,000 and in the past, there have been reports of WSL players holding onto second jobs to supplement their income.

Vivianne Miedema of Manchester City is challenged by Kim Little of Arsenal during the Barclays Women's Super League match between Arsenal and Manchester City at Emirates Stadium on September 22, 2024 in London, England.

The WSL professionalism is only growing (Image credit: Richard Pelham - The FA/The FA via Getty Images)

Despite the league being professional in name, the reality for players at smaller clubs is that they are unlikely to earn that much money.

Bigger names in the league, however, can earn a lot more. It is thought that the highest women's footballer salary in the WSL is Sam Kerr who earns a reported £449,000 a season. 

Kerr is not the highest paid in the world though with Barcelona's Alexia Putellas and Aitana Bonmati reportedly earning £584,000 and £835,000 respectively a season.

The pair play in the Liga F and in 2023 player unions agreed to increase the minimum wage from  16,000 euros (£13,700) to 21,000 euros (£18,000) a year. The amount will then go up to 23,500 euros (£20,200) by the 2025-26 season.

Salary amounts also vary in other top leagues in Europe. In Germany's Frauen Bundesliga players are thought to earn an average of 3,500 euros-a-month.

France's Ligue 1, from a 2022 report, saw the majority of players earning less than 2,000 euros-per-month.

Players' salaries are also supplemented by earnings from national teams with a number of countries now paying their men's and women's teams the same amount. Brazil, Australia and Norway are just some of the countries who have joined England in paying both sides the same. England players are thought to earn around £2000 a match with many players from both squads donating their match fees to charity.

In the USA, there is a strict salary cap in place. The WSL technically has one as well but it is relatively soft, set at 40% of turnover. In the NWSL, however, in an agreement for the 2025 season players must be paid a minimum of $48,500. Their income can be supplemented with healthcare, housing and transport allowances. 

Sarah Rendell
Women's football editor

Sarah joined the FourFourTwo team in September 2024 in a freelance role. She also writes for The Guardian, BBC and Rugby World where she specialises in women's football and rugby. Sarah has a bachelors degree in English and a master's in newspaper journalism.

With contributions from