Now, let’s talk club money. The top stars in the Women’s Super League (WSL)—like Lucy Bronze, Keira Walsh, or Beth Mead—can earn £150,000 to £200,000 a year. That’s proper “buy a nice house and a decent car” money. For context, the average men’s Premier League player pockets about £3 million a year. So yeah, there’s a chasm—but the women’s game didn’t exist professionally a decade ago.
How much do women footballers get paid? - BBC News
Here’s the hilarious bit: some players still have part-time jobs on the side. Seriously! Until 2018, many Lionesses worked as personal trainers, teachers, or even in call centres. One player, Rachel Corsie, once admitted she was earning more from a sponsorship deal with a toothpaste brand than from football. Talk about brushing up on your side hustle!
The Sponsorship Fairy Godmother
Thankfully, the sponsorship money is exploding. Brands like Barclays, Nike, and Lucozade are throwing cash at the Lionesses. The national team’s kit deal alone is worth £10 million a year to the FA. And guess what? The players get a cut of that for image rights. So a star like Chloe Kelly can earn an extra £50,000 a year just from her face on a cereal box. Win-win!
Still, let’s be real: even the highest-paid woman in the WSL (£200k) earns less than one week’s pay for a male Premier League benchwarmer. That stings. But here’s the thing: the women’s game is growing exponentially. Ticket sales for the WSL are up 300% since 2026. TV rights deals are climbing. The cash is coming—it’s just running a bit slower than a hungover defender.
