The Sheffield Wednesday wage bill that John Textor would have to take on if he replaces Dejphon Chansiri | OneFootball

John Textor has been linked with a potential takeover at Sheffield Wednesday

Former Crystal Palace shareholder John Textor is considering an offer to take over at Sheffield Wednesday.

According to The Star, the American businessman is weighing up a move to purchase the Championship club from Dejphon Chansiri.

The ownership situation at Hillsborough has been in the spotlight in recent weeks amid speculation of a possible takeover.

Financial issues behind the scenes, including the late payment of wages in two of the last three months, has led to supporters urging Chansiri to sell.

Here we use estimated figures from Capology to take a look at what kind of wage bill Textor would be taking over, should he purchase Chansiri’s stake in Sheffield Wednesday…

Sheffield Wednesday’s top earners

Sheffield Wednesday’s highest earner in the 2024/25 campaign was club captain Barry Bannan.

The Scot featured 41 times in Danny Rohl’s side last season, contributing four goals and five assists, which helped highlight why he is receiving £24,038 per week, more than anyone else in the entire squad.

There are then six players that are all joint-second highest earners in the squad, all earning £20,000-a-week each.

This includes Yan Valery, Dominic Iorfa, Iké Ugbo, Josh Windass, Nathaniel Chalobah and Stuart Armstrong.

The average salary for the entire first team squad is £12,131 per week.

The likes of Callum Paterson and Jamal Lowe (£18,000-a-week each), as well as Michael Smith (£17,500), Max Lowe (£17,000) and Michael Ihiekwe (£15,000), all earn more than this figure.

However, the likes of Bannan and Paterson are yet to agree terms on a new contract with the Owls, meaning they may not be with the club for next season unless something changes.

Armstrong, Ben Hamer (£7,500), Ryo Hatsuse, Ihiekwe, Marvin Johnson (£10,000), Pol Valentin (£2,000) and Malik Wilks have all also been released, which will reduce the size of the wage bill for the upcoming campaign.

Where Sheffield Wednesday’s wage bill ranks in the Championship

Sheffield Wednesday finished 12th in the Championship table under Rohl last season, an improvement on coming 20th in the campaign previously.

And the Owls had the 11th highest wage bill in the division, meaning they earned roughly the league result you’d expect from their level of spending.

Their total estimated weekly wage bill amounted to £327,538, which was less than half of highest spenders Leeds United, who paid £707,500 per week for Daniel Farke’s first team.

Burnley were second in the league for weekly wage spending, with Scott Parker’s side earning £567,500, with both clubs achieving automatic promotion to the Premier League.

Third place Sheffield United narrowly missed out on a top flight return, and Chris Wilder’s side were also third in the wage spending table.

Sheffield Wednesday’s local rivals paid their squad £522,500 per week, with the team reaching the 90 point mark, only to lose the play-off final to Sunderland.

If Textor does take over the Owls this summer, then he will be taking on an average Championship wage bill size, which will be smaller than last year due to the players who have departed Hillsborough.