Who Is the Highest Paid Female Footballer?

Who Is the Highest Paid Female Footballer?

When we rank the highest paid female footballer, we’re not inspired by mere curiosity. The salaries in this sport prove that the women’s game is becoming financially sustainable. It’s still very unequal across leagues and regions, though. Not more than a decade ago, women’s football was played in semi-professional conditions. Today, we’re seeing lucrative contracts and measurable growth in salaries.

When discussing the highest paid women footballers, we should move beyond headline figures. In addition to the club wages, we’ll consider endorsement agreements and national team bonuses. An elite player’s earnings are defined by several factors.

Earning Trends in Women’s Football

The salaries are growing, but many other factors define the most paid female soccer player, too:

• Broadcasting revenue
• Sponsorships
• Ticket sales
• Transactions between clubs, federations, and commercial partners

The popularity of this sport is obvious on betting platforms. Websites that offer casino games and sports betting consistently feature women’s football matches. In these environments, payment credibility is crucial, which is why users prefer a minimum deposit online casino to place their bets. Timely withdrawals are essential for credibility. We can say that modern sports stick to similar standards. Faster, transparent transactions towards players improve the clubs’ accountability.

How Much Do Women Footballers Get Paid? 2020–2025 Figures

This sport had a significant financial expansion over the past few years. It was driven by sponsorship growth and broadcasting deals. The media, with its increased interest in this sport, made large contributions, too. Still, the gap between men’s and women’s earnings in this sport is immense. But for now, let’s focus on the progress in the women’s football league salary.

So how much do professional female soccer players make in general? According to FIFA’s 2025 benchmarking report, the global average salary for professional female players is $10,900 per year. That’s not an impressive number, is it? Tier 1 clubs pay out an average of $24,030 per player, annually. But lower-tier teams reported dramatically lower average numbers, such as $4,361 and $2,805 for Tier 2 and 3, respectively.

When looking at these numbers, the historical underinvestment in women’s clubs becomes obvious. Financial power is centralized among a handful of elite clubs.

But there’s some good news: major leagues introduced minimum salary standards, which protect players. The structured wage floors made a great improvement in the women’s pro football salary. In the U.S. National Women’s Soccer League, for example, the minimum salary for a player in 2025 was set at $48,500. This is a great step toward long-term career sustainability.

The Women’s Super League in England introduced new financial regulations, too. It instructed its clubs to professionalize their salary systems and start signing full-time contracts. The specific numbers are different between clubs, but the guidelines prove the trend towards treating women’s football more professionally. It should never be a part-time pursuit for elite athletes.

The support from major broadcasting channels also contributed to a higher women’s football salary. Media rights deals provide clubs and leagues with guaranteed revenue. It can be allocated toward player wages. When leagues such as the Liga F secure multi-year broadcasting contracts, clubs gain predictable income. With that, higher payments become financially viable.

Even though the average salaries are modest in some leagues, the rising trend is obvious.

The Highest Paid Female Football Player Today 

Sam Kerr, captain of Chelsea FC, is currency the highest paid female soccer player. Her overall earnings reflect Chelsea’s competitive wage structure. This is one of the strongest clubs in Europe’s women’s leagues. However, Kerr’s overall income comes from different places:

• Club salary and bonuses
• Endorsements and commercial partnerships
• Performance incentives

Sam Kerr has a $1-million endorsement deal with Nike and a $600,000 contract with MasterCard per season. She also signed contracts with Mate and Commonwealth Bank, among other sponsors.

However, Sam Kerr doesn’t receive the highest salary among her colleagues. If we only consider the base club salary, Aitana Bonmati is the most expensive female soccer player at the moment. Her renewed contract with FC Barcelona gave her the highest guaranteed club pay in this sport on a global level. Bonmati is one of the strongest midfielders in the game, so it’s no wonder Barcelona invested so much in her.

Alexia Putellas, also from FC Barcelona, is close! She benefits from playing in a league where the top clubs set new standards for the question: how much do female soccer players make in Europe?

So let’s determine the richest female soccer player, overall. We sourced data from public reports and verified sponsorship disclosures.

Here’s our list:

The Important Thing Is That the Women’s Soccer Salary Europe and Globally Is Rising

Sam Kerr is the current leader when we consider the total income, which includes club pay and sponsorships. When we only focus on club wages, Aitana Bonmati is the top earner, without a doubt. These numbers aren’t low at all. They prove that elite European clubs are revolutionizing the sport.

We have to admit that even though the compensations in this sport are improving, they are very uneven. Women’s Super League players and leading athletes in Liga F have professional contracts that we couldn’t even imagine a decade ago. But the global average pay is still very low.

Let’s conclude by admitting that the financial progress in women’s football is real. Not every player benefits equally. But the current salary trends show that the sport offers sustainable careers. Young talents get better chances for professional viability today.