Jack Clarke's wages at Ipswich Town compared to the best paid Sunderland AFC players | OneFootball

Clarke secured a big money move to the Premier League in August, but how do his wages compare to Sunderland's top earners?

It’s now been four months since Jack Clarke departed Sunderland and moved to the Premier League with Ipswich Town.

However, the wing wizard has struggled to replicate the form that saw him record 19 goal contributions in the league for the Black Cats last term, as well as 21 in 2022/23.

The 24-year-old has joined a team who had to spend big to improve their squad in the summer, after back-to-back promotions carried them from League One to the Premier League in the space of two seasons.

Kieran McKenna’s men are currently struggling to find consistency as they battle for Premier League survival.

Recent positive results against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United were followed up by losses against Nottingham Forest, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, all teams who Ipswich will feel they’re capable of taking points off.

Jack Clarke’s wages compared to current Sunderland AFC stars like Jobe Bellingham

Clarke’s Ipswich move is the first time he has been a regular feature within the senior team of a top-flight side.

The winger previously spent three years at Tottenham between 2019 and 2022, but was loaned out for spells with QPR, Stoke and Sunderland. He made just four senior appearances for Spurs, none of which were in the Premier League.

Unsurprisingly, as with the majority of players who move to the Premier League, Clarke’s wages have risen substantially from what he was on at Sunderland.

According to estimates made by Capology, the Tractor Boys are currently paying Clarke in the region of £25,000 per week.

For comparison, they estimate that Clarke was receiving just shy of £17,000 per week during his last two seasons in the North East.

Clarke’s current wage would put him firmly among the highest earners within the Black Cats’ wage structure, with Capology estimating that Bournemouth loanee Chris Mepham is currently the highest paid player at the Stadium of Light on a cool £35,000 per week.

It’s unknown exactly what percentage of Mepham’s wage is being covered by his parent club, but the Welsh centre half is comfortably Sunderland’s highest estimated earner at the minute.

Second behind Mepham comes his regular centre back partner, Dan Ballard. The Northern Ireland international is currently estimated to be earning £25,000 per week, a figure that is almost double what he was on when he first joined from Arsenal in 2022.

Following on from those two are summer arrivals Alan Browne and Salis Abdul Samed (another loanee), who are both said to be receiving £15,000 per week.

Patrick Roberts and Jobe Bellingham are each thought to be on around £12,500 per week, while homegrown goalkeeper Anthony Patterson and the impressive Dennis Cirkin are both believed to command a wage of £10,000 per week.

Notably, young star Chris Rigg, who has already become a key component of the team at 17, is estimated to be on a wage of just £1,500 per week, having signed a first ever professional contract over the summer.

Sunderland AFC’s wage bill has been dramatically reduced by young talent

While Clarke was undoubtedly a hugely valuable asset to Sunderland, they have coped perfectly fine so far in 2024/25, after picking up an initial £15million for last season’s star man back in August.

According to Capology’s estimates, Black Cats boss Regis Le Bris is working with the Championship’s 14th highest weekly wage bill, making their fantastic start to the season all the more impressive.

A key feature of Sunderland’s success so far has been the immediate impact that several youngsters have had in the senior team. The Black Cats have the youngest squad in the entire division with an average age of just 23.2, according to Transfermarkt.

Rigg has already become one of the standout players, while Tommy Watson has also burst onto the scene recently with some impressive performances, including a match-winning brace against Stoke City earlier in December.

The Black Cats’ young talents will also have helped keep their wage bill down, as starlets like Rigg and Watson are already producing at the level of seasoned Championship players, despite being on weekly wages that are practically pocket change for a club like Sunderland.

They are already becoming the perfect blueprint for clubs to achieve success with a strong academy setup and a willingness to expose youngsters to senior football at an early age.