How much Sheffield Wednesday were paying on wages last time they were in League One | OneFootball

Sheffield Wednesday are at risk of a wage spending limit for life in League One next season

Sheffield Wednesday are awaiting the completion of David Storch’s bid to buy the club before they can plan for life in League One next season.

The Owls have been in administration since October, and the group led by Storch, Arise, were only named as the preferred bidder earlier this month.

A previous consortium were in line to buy the Championship side, but they pulled out of the deal in February, which put the Yorkshire outfit back to square one.

The Arise group need to get through the EFL’s ratification process before completing their takeover of Sheffield Wednesday, and there are some fears that the deal could still collapse.

A 15-point deduction penalty is set to be handed to the club for failing to meet the EFL’s rules regarding paying creditors 25p on the pound to exit administration.

A wage spending cap of £7 million, which also includes a limit on individual player salaries of £7,000 per week, could also be applied to the new owners, which jeopardises whether they will finalise their bid or walk away entirely.

Sheffield Wednesday’s previous League One wage spending

Sheffield Wednesday were in League One as recently as 2023, with the team gaining promotion under Darren Moore through the play-offs.

The Owls enjoyed a sensational second leg comeback in the semi-finals, beating Peterborough United on penalties after trailing 4-0 from the first meeting.

The tie finished 5-5 on aggregate, with Moore’s side prevailing in front of their own fans before winning 1-0 at Wembley Stadium against Barnsley.

According to the BBC, Sheffield Wednesday were paying more than double the impending £7 million limit the last time they were in the third tier.

It’s been claimed that the Owls’ wage bill amounted to £15.8 million as they earned their place back in the Championship.

It is also understood that Derby County’s wage budget when they exited administration four years ago was worth £17 million.

The Rams avoided any further sanctions from the EFL when David Clowes purchased the club because they were able to pay off all creditors at a rate of 25p on the pound.

However, it’s been reported that the Storch bid, and every other offer made to buy Sheffield Wednesday, have been unwilling to pay former owner Dejphon Chansiri the money he is still owed.

The Thai businessman has £60 million worth of loans outstanding as part of his ownership, and he is still owed £15 million of that, although he could yet waive this figure.

EFL sanctions will be a big setback for Sheffield Wednesday

Derby have been able to go from administration to play-off contenders in the Championship in four years, and replicating that timeline at Sheffield Wednesday will surely be something the new owners will want.

However, that will be extremely difficult even without these impending EFL sanctions, which will only make matters even tougher.

A 15 point penalty and a cap on wage expenditure will make it very hard to compete in League One straight away, and it could even have the Owls in a relegation battle next year.

Fans will be hoping some kind of resolution is found, but ensuring the survival of the Yorkshire outfit should be the biggest priority at this stage, even if it means sanctions being handed to them.