Who were K League's biggest earners and spenders in 2025? | OneFootball

The K League has announced player salary expenditure figures for the 2025 season, covering 11 K League 1 clubs (excluding military team Gimcheon Sangmu) and 14 K League 2 clubs.

Salary figures are calculated based on actual payments made, combining base salary and various bonuses (including appearance fees, win bonuses, goal and assist bonuses, and other options). Bonuses include payments made for matches in the 2025 K League season, the Korea Cup, and the AFC Champions League.

The total salary expenditure of the 11 K League 1 clubs in the 2025 season amounted to KRW 136.813066 billion. By club, Ulsan recorded the highest spending at KRW 20.648584 billion, followed by Jeonbuk at KRW 20.141419 billion and Daejeon at KRW 19.931388 billion.

The average salary per player in K League 1 was KRW 311.765 million. The average salary for domestic players was KRW 237.818 million, while foreign players earned an average of KRW 835.985 million.

By club, the highest average salary per player was at Ulsan with KRW 643.592 million, followed by Daejeon with KRW 509.972 million and FC Seoul with KRW 410.775 million.

Meanwhile, the total salary expenditure of the 14 K League 2 clubs in the 2025 season stood at KRW 72.965667 billion. Incheon spent the most at KRW 10.760123 billion, followed by Suwon with KRW 9.568525 billion and Chungnam Asan with KRW 6.658744 billion.

The average salary per player in K League 2 was KRW 142.534 million. Domestic players earned an average of KRW 106.475 million, while foreign players earned an average of KRW 412.853 million.

By club, the highest average salary per player was at Incheon with KRW 293.458 million, followed by Suwon with KRW 265.179 million and Seoul E-Land with KRW 193.548 million.

Across both K League 1 and 2 in the 2025 season, the top five highest-paid domestic players were Lee Seung-woo (Jeonbuk, KRW 1.59 billion), Kim Young-gwon (Ulsan, KRW 1.48 billion), Jo Hyeon-woo (Ulsan, KRW 1.46 billion), Park Jin-seop (Jeonbuk, KRW 1.23 billion), and Joo Min-kyu (Daejeon, KRW 1.12 billion).

Among foreign players, the top five highest-paid were Cesinha (Daegu, KRW 2.1 billion), Jesse Lingard (FC Seoul, KRW 1.95 billion), Gerso Fernandes (Incheon, KRW 1.54 billion), Stefan Mugoša (Incheon, KRW 1.54 billion), and Andrea Compagno (Jeonbuk, KRW 1.34 billion).