Bradford City, Port Vale, Doncaster Rovers and AFC Wimbledon will all be competing in League One next year.

Rovers clinched the fourth division title with 84 points, finishing four clear of Port Vale and six ahead of the Bantams.

Wimbledon earned their place in the third tier through the play-offs, sealing a 1-0 win against Walsall on Monday.

The four clubs will now be planning for life in League One, with the aim of remaining in the division beyond just one year, and potentially even proving capable of competing at the top end of the table long-term.

Here we use estimated figures from Capology to take a look at how their wage bills compare to the teams competing in the third division this season…

Bradford City, Port Vale, Doncaster Rovers and AFC Wimbledon’s wage bills

Bradford have the highest wage bill of the four teams that achieved promotion from League Two this season.

The Bantams have a weekly wage spend worth £86,012 for the entirety of their first team squad.

Only Salford City and Carlisle United spend more on their squads, paying £86,450 and £97,712 per week, respectively.

Top 5 highest wage bills in League Two – 2024/25 (estimated figures from Capology)
Club	Weekly salary (£)
Carlisle United	97,712
Salford City	86,450
Bradford City	86,012
Colchester United	84,085
Chesterfield	84,050

Port Vale are the next highest of the four teams that earned promotion, but they only have the 11th highest wage bill in the entire division, totalling for £70,358-a-week.

Play-off winners Wimbledon have a wage bill worth £68,146, which ranks them 14th in the division, ahead of their opponents at Wembley Stadium Walsall, who pay £59,050-a-week to their squad.

Meanwhile, title winners Doncaster pay £62,750 per week to their squad, ranking their wage bill as the 16th highest in the division.

Rovers’ wage bill was only worth 64 per cent of Carlisle’s, but the two sides ended up at the complete opposite ends of the table, with United finishing 23rd and suffering relegation out of the EFL.

League One’s biggest wage bills

The lowest wage bill in League One last season was Peterborough United’s, with the Posh paying £63,812 per week to their first team squad.

This would rank them as the 15th highest wage bill in League Two, just below Morcecambe’s £66,850 per week.

However, Birmingham City led the way with a weekly salary of £308,000 for their entire squad, far more than any side in the fourth tier last season.

Huddersfield Town and Wrexham rounded out the top three with wage bills worth £220,169 and £205,200-a-week, respectively.

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