Revealed: How Lionesses’ salaries compare to stars of the men’s team – as PR experts say they are set to pocket lucrative deals after historic World Cup final
- World’s biggest brands queuing up to sign England’s Lionesses, experts say
Some of the world’s biggest brands will be queuing up to sign England’s Lionesses to deals – but their earning potential is still likely to be dwarfed by their male counterparts, an expert said today.
Sarina Wiegman’s side are just 90 minutes away from becoming world champions, a feat not seen on these shores since the historic efforts of Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore and co in 1966.
Whatever the result, the women’s team will have caught the eye of brand bosses throughout their World Cup journey Down Under and are in line for bumper paydays.
Brand and culture expert Nick Ede told MailOnline that it won’t just be sports firms looking to snap up the players, but fashion and lifestyle brands, car manufacturers and supermarket giants like Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose will all show an interest – with top deals likely to be worth more than £500,000.
However, as a sexism row rages amid snubs from Prince William and Rishi Sunak, and a last-minute scramble to allow pubs to serve booze for the game, Mr Ede believes the Lionesses still won’t be pocketing as much as the men – even if they end up lifting the trophy on Sunday.
Revealed: How Lionesses’ salaries compare to stars of the men’s team
Striker Alessia Russo has signed lucrative deals with Adidas, Beats by Dr Dre and the luxury brand Oakley in the last year
Captain Leah Williamson, who has missed the World Cup through injury, is thought to have raked in around £4m across her career, off the back of her £150,000-a-year contract with Arsenal deals with sponsors including include Italian fashion house Gucci, sportswear giant Nike and Pepsi
Right-back Lucy Bronze has also reaped the rewards, pairing up with Cupra cars, Visa, EE and Klarna
Lauren Hemp, who scooper the Player of the Match award in the semi-final, has a deal with Starling Bank
Leah Williamson (left)’s sponsors Gucci, Nike and Pepsi are set to bring in £150k, while Harry Kane’s deals with Nike, Mars and Sketchers are worth around £21.5mn
England goalkeeper Mary Earps’ (left) deal with Adidas is worth a tidy £250k – but Jordan Pickford’s (right) deal with Puma is worth around £5.2mn
So it proves by comparing the players’ salaries to their male equivalent in the Three Lions.
Goalkeeper Mary Earps, for instance, is estimated to earn £250,000 a year, compared to the £5.2m pocketed by Gareth Southgate’s’ number one, Jordan Pickford.
Midfielder Georgia Stanway’s estimated salary of £34,000 is completely dwarfed by the new £13m-a-year deal signed by Declan Rice – who plays in the heart of the engine room for his country – at Arsenal.
READ MORE: Sexism storm over Women’s World Cup amid scramble to allow pubs to serve booze before kick-off
Lionesses captain Leah Williamson is believed to earn around £150,000 per annum for her club, which is completely blown out the water by men’s skipper, Harry Kane, who is thought to be earning more than £21m at German giants, Bayern Munich.
Mr Ede said: ‘The male counterparts are earning millions from endorsements and remain huge stars with massive social media followings too.
‘The Lionesses won’t be remunerated as much as their male counterparts which is totally wrong as they are superstars.
‘I think this is to do with the perceived brand value of the male players who are so prevalent during the season that they have built up such massive fan bases.
‘There should be equal pay for men and women players on and off the pitch, and hopefully with the success of the Lionesses this year, the gap will be closing much faster than it would have done previously.’
There has no doubt been a boom in the earning potential of female players, with striker Alessia Russo signing lucrative deals with Adidas, Beats by dr Dre and the luxury brand Oakley in the last year.
On top of her annual salary from club side Arsenal, which is estimated to be around £88,000, Russo’s sponsorship agreements mean she is set to become the first Women’s Super League player to earn more than £1million a year, the Athletic reports.
Leah Williamson, who plays central defence, has brand deals with Gucci, Nike and Pepsi (pictured wearing Gucci)
Midfielder Georgia Stanway is involved in a partnership with Prestige Cars (pictured with owner Matt Johnson)
Lucy Bronze also works with Klarna, pictured on a campaign shoot ahead of last year’s Euros
On top of her annual salary from club side Arsenal, which is estimated to be around £88,000, Alessia Russo’s sponsorship agreements mean she is set to become the first Women’s Super League player to earn more than £1million a year, the Athletic reports
Chloe Kelly shot to fame due to her impressive footballing skills and her iconic celebration during extra time in the final against Germany. After this moment, searches for Nike sports bras rocketed online
England Right Back Lucy Bronze (left) has deals worth £200k, much less than fellow-England Right Back Kyle Walker’s (right) £8.3mn Puma sponsorship
Captain Williamson, who has missed the World Cup through injury, is thought to have raked in around £4m across her career, off the back of her £150,000-a-year contract with Arsenal deals with sponsors including include Italian fashion house Gucci, sportswear giant Nike and Pepsi.
Right-back Lucy Bronze has also reaped the rewards, pairing up with Cupra cars, Visa, EE and Klarna.
Chloe Kelly is also thought to have benefitted having shot to prominence following her iconic celebration after her goal won England the Euros last year.
READ MORE: Row deepens over Prince William’s absence at the Women’s World Cup final as former sports minister says the royal should ‘be there’
She whipped off her shirt and ran across the Wembley stadium turf in her Nike sports bra, becoming one of the most recognised images of the tournament.
In the aftermath, searches on Google for football sports bras rocketed to over 1,590 per cent with many browsing for the unmistakable Nike Dri-fit Swoosh Sports Bra.
As a result Kelly also became an in-demand player on the team discussing a number of pricey brand deals, including rumours of one with Land Rover for £2million.
But the disparity in earnings between the female and male players is laid bare not just in salaries form their clubs, but in sponsorship deals, too, with Manchester City’s Jack Grealish said to be on track to make a staggering £100m before the age of 30 – helped by his deals with Gucci, boohooMAN, Puma and Bose headphones.
And he’s not the only one. Last year Arsenal star Rice signed a multimillion-pound deal with Müller Rice becoming the face of the yoghurt company’s ‘Rice, Rice Baby’ campaign.
Meanwhile, Marcus Rashford was left in a multi-million-pound tug of war with Nike when he was deciding whether to renew his contract with the sports brand. He eventually decided to stay put and is thought to have raked in several million.
The Manchester United star now has his own range of ‘Marcus Rashford Football Boots’ – Nike Mercurial Superflys – which are sold by the sports brand.
Jack Grealish is said to be on track to make a staggering £100m before the age of 30 – helped by his deals with Gucci, boohooMAN, Puma and Bose headphones
Last year Arsenal star Declan Rice (pictured) signed a multimillion-pound deal with Müller Rice becoming the face of the yoghurt company’s ‘Rice, Rice Baby’ campaign
Marcus Rashford was left in a multi-million-pound tug of war with Nike before he decided to renew his contract
Considered one of the best attacking midfielders of her generation, Georgia Stanway (left) has a deal with Prestige Cars worth £34k. Arsenal’s Declan Rice (right) has a deal with Muller Rice worth £13mn
Mr Ede said he expected some of the Lionesses to boost their profiles further with appearances on reality shows such as Strictly Come Dancing and I’m A Celebrity, where former player Jill Scott was crowned Queen of the Jungle last year.
‘There are lots of ways the players can expand their reach via personal appearances, commercial deals, appearing on TV.
‘When they receive their honours from the Prince of Wales, their titles will allow them to make money on the speaking circuit too.’
Tim Lopez, director of talent at the agency CSM Sport & Entertainment, told the Times: ‘They could be looking upwards of three to four hundred thousand [pounds] per brand partnership.
‘It could be more, could be less. Before [the Cup] they may have been creeping into six figures now anywhere between two and four [hundred thousand] depending on what rights would be included in the package.’
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