How Sheffield United and Sheffield Wednesday's agent spend compared to rivals and staggering Leeds United amount
How Sheffield United and Wednesday’s agent spend compared to rivals after staggering Leeds United amount revealed
Sheffield United spent almost £4.5m on agents' fees in a 12-month period, latest figures published by the Football Association today revealed, with city rivals Wednesday splurging one of the lowest amounts in the Championship at just under £800,000 - with both amounts combined absolutely dwarfed by a staggering outlay just up the M1 at Leeds United.
The latest payments and transactions involving clubs and agents registered with The FA include the reporting period of February 2, 2024 to February 3, 2025 and include new contracts for both Sheffield clubs’ bosses, Chris Wilder and Danny Rohl, as well as members of Wilder’s Bramall Lane coaching staff including Matt Prestridge and Alan Knill.
United’s spend of exactly £4,442,940 is one of the highest in the Championship but less than a quarter of the huge £18,836,447 spent on agency fees by their promotion rivals Leeds. That was spread across 29 transactions, including the purchase of defender Jayden Bogle from the Blades in the summer, which was fewer than United (65) and Wednesday (32).
Perhaps a little perversely clubs also are hit in the pocket with agency fees when they get rid of a player, with the Blades also paying the representatives of Benie Traore and Ivo Grbic when their moves away from Bramall Lane were completed. The figures also include new scholarship applications for the Blades.
For comparison, the second-highest spend in the Championship behind Leeds was Burnley’s £5.3m while Oxford United’s £572,000 outlay was the lowest among a league total of £63.2million. Leeds’ huge outley makes them the ninth highest spenders on agent fees in the whole of English football, outstripping many Premier League clubs, and is made even more remarkable considering they didn’t do any incoming business in January.
The Blades, in comparison, made seven signings while Wednesday were also active, with Shea Charles’ loan from Southampton being renewed and Stuart Armstrong joining him at Hillsborough. Several other Championship clubs also topped £2m in agent payments, including Luton Town, Sunderland, Cardiff City, Middlesbrough, Watford and West Brom.
The FA’s report, designed to increase transparency in expenditure amongst professional clubs, also clarifies that some of the agent fees in the period could possibly account for some deals which were brokered before the period in question before the February 2, 2024 period began.
It states: "Payments included in these figures may have been made in relation to transactions that were entered into before the first date of this reporting period. As a result, the total payment figure per club will not necessarily relate directly to those transactions listed involving a football agent registered in England for the same period."
The FA figures also reveal that United’s Women side spent just over £20,000 on agents’ fees in the same period, out of a Championship total of £286,000 - just less than the league average of just under £26,000 skewed slightly by a league-highest spend of £105,885 from London City Lionesses.