What Jarrod Bowen's new West Ham wage will be in the EFL Championship | OneFootball

Relegation from the Premier League at the end of 2025-26 could prove to be a costly business for Jarrod Bowen, should he stay at The London Stadium.

Jarrod Bowen faces a dilemma following West Ham's relegation into the Championship at the end of the 2025-26 season, though what happens to him may not even be his choice.

Two defeats in a row had taken matters out of their hands by the final weekend of the Premier League season, and it turned out that a comfortable 3-0 win against Leeds United was not enough to keep West Ham United in the top-flight. The Irons needed to win themselves and hope that Spurs lost at home to Everton, but Spurs' 1-0 win rendered the result at The London Stadium an irrelevance.

So West Ham will be playing Championship football for the first time since the 2011-12 season, and this leaves several of their star players with some serious thinking to do this summer.

One of the players that the club will be most keen to keep hold of will be club captain and England international Jarrod Bowen, and for most established Premier League players it might not be a difficult decision to make, to leave a club which has just been relegated.

But Bowen's situation is unusual, and he may have pressure on him that other players in similar positions would not have to face, even though it could leave him significantly out of pocket.

Jarrod Bowen could face a 50% wage cut if he stays at West Ham next season

CityAM has reported that West Ham United's players face savage wage cuts as a result of the club's relegation from the Premier League. They report that the players face 50% wage cuts as a result of going down, and this would hurt Bowen more than any other player.

Capology estimates indicate that Bowen has been on £150,000-a-week at West Ham, making him their highest-earning player and meaning that relegation from the Premier League could cost him £75,000-a-week, or almost £4 million over a year, should he end up staying with the club.

For most players, there would be little dilemma about this. Bowen is 30, meaning that time may soon be starting to run out on his playing career. If a Premier League club were to step in and offer most players from a freshly-relegated club the wage they were earning in the top-flight, most players would likely bite their hands off.

But Bowen isn't just a West Ham United player, and he isn't even just the West Ham United captain either. Being married to Dani Dyer, the daughter of actor and noted Irons supporter Danny, could make leaving The London Stadium potentially more difficult than it would be for most players.

Bowen could face a dilemma, but West Ham's financial position may take the matter out of his hands

While Bowen's close personal connection to West Ham could present the winger with a dilemma this summer, it could be that the matter is taken out of his hands by the club themselves.

West Ham United's financial position is far from rosy. The last set of published accounts, which covered the 2024-25 season, showed a loss of £104.2 million, and that figure is not likely to be much better for the 2025-26 season.

This means that the club may be left with little option but to cash in and sell him this summer. It's been reported that they need to raise £150 million this summer as a result of their relegation, and selling Bowen would be an easy win in that respect.

The CityAM report values him at £30 million, meaning that a decent chunk of that £150 million could be addressed through selling him, while shifting a further almost £8 million from their wage bill. In addition to this, the very fact that Bowen signed a seven-year contract would make his sale a decision that made absolute sense, in a strictly financial sense.

But this isn't about money alone. Not only does the player himself have a decision to make, but Bowen is a player of such rare quality that West Ham would clearly benefit from having him at The London Stadium next season.

And furthermore, there is a possibility that this could happen. In his post-match interview following the win against Leeds, a visibly distraught Bowen said that he wanted to stay with the club and help them get back to the Premier League next season. With 22 England caps under his belt, it's unlikely that there'd be a shortage of takers for him.

Bowen has been a Premier League footballer for six years since transferring from Hull City in 2020, and had been with the Tigers for six years when he left. He's independently wealthy, and he may even consider a big pay cut as an acceptable price to pay to stay with West Ham.