How much money Demarai Gray earns at Birmingham City as exit threat drops | OneFootball

The experienced winger could potentially leave St. Andrew's this summer

Birmingham City's upcoming pre-season is set to be one of great importance to Chris Davies, who will be hoping to reshuffle his squad in order to successfully mount a promotion bid in 2026/27.

On and off-pitch developments in recent times mean there has been plenty of spotlight cast on Blues, who will be competing in the Championship for a second successive campaign after returning to the division at the first time of asking in 2024/25 as League One champions.

Throughout his two-year spell as manager, Davies has been heavily backed financially, and in terms of personal support by American ownership group, Knighthead Capital Management, who are desperate to bring Premier League football back to St. Andrew's @ Knighthead Park.

Birmingham have undergone several high-profile recruitment drives in the past three years, most notably in the summer of 2024 when a club-record fee was parted with to lure Jay Stansfield back to the club on a permanent basis.

Such a theme continued last summer when 14 new recruits were added to Davies' squad, albeit they yielded mixed results in terms of how successful they turned out to be, meaning another squad reshuffle was conducted in January despite an eventual 10th-placed finish.

That said, there was plenty of fanfare 11 months ago when Blues academy graduate, Demarai Gray, was linked with a return to his hometown club, before penning a three-year contract.

However, there is now a possibility of said reunion being short-lived.

Birmingham City facing exit threat over Demarai Gray ahead of 2026/27

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Indeed, after breaking into Birmingham's first-team fold under Lee Clark in 2014, Gray went on to win the Premier League with Leicester City months after a £3.7m release clause was triggered, before going on to feature for the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Everton and, most recently, Al-Ettifaq of the Saudi Pro League.

Alongside the likes of Kyogo Furuhashi and Tommy Doyle, Gray's eventual return to B9 on a free transfer was met with a huge degree of excitement and intrigue, and unsurprisingly, the experienced figure became a mainstay in Davies' lineup.

Throughout the campaign, the 29-year-old, who also has 29 caps for Jamaica, featured in 39 matches across all competitions, firing home five goals and six assists in all competitions, despite seeing his number of starts decrease at the turn of the year through an injury, as well as the form of Brighton and Hove Albion loanee, Ibrahim Osman.

It is now being claimed by Fabrizio Romano that there is an exit clause within Gray's contract that expires on July 10th, and the potential of a cut-price deal has alerted many clubs, and that the wide man could be tempted to leave depending on those offers.

How much money Demarai Gray earns at Birmingham City amid exit talk

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If Gray was to depart, Al-Ettifaq would also benefit through the insertion of a 20% sell-on clause, but how much money may one of those aforementioned suitors have to pay the winger on an individual basis?

According to Capology - a site which ESTIMATES wage bills and contract details - Birmingham had the sixth-highest wage bill in the Championship for the 2025/26 season at a weekly figure of £441,000.

The highest individual earner amongst Tom Wagner's payroll is said to be Carlos Vicente, who joined from Deportivo Alaves in late January, with Kyogo below him on £40,000 per week, which was reportedly an issue for Celtic amid transfer links in winter.

However, Gray is said to be the joint third-highest earner in B9 on an ESTIMATED £30,000 per week, which is also said to be earned by Patrick Roberts and another winter arrival in German full-back, Kai Wagner.

Unsurprisingly, such earnings are a massive decrease on Gray's ESTIMATED earnings in the Middle East, where he was reportedly taking home a pay packet of £77,482 in the 2024/25 campaign.

At present, no suitors have been named individually, but it is a reminder that even if the transfer fee for such an experienced player is in the low-cost bracket, wage demands must be considered.

As for Blues, it would be a major blow to lose a player of Gray's calibre as they look to make the Championship play-offs and beyond, with the post-season lottery expanded into a six-team competition from next season.