How Much Are Premier League Referees Paid?

Premier League player wages are often discussed by both football fans and non-footballing fans, and most agree that they are way too high compared to other more necessary jobs. Less often reported are manager and staff wages, yet sometimes you do hear about it when a manager signs a contract extension. Something that is pretty much never reported however, is how much the match officials make per game. The salary for a Premier League referee is unknown to most football fans, as they tend to care more about decisions on the pitch rather than their money earned afterwards.

Premier League Referee Salary - A Varying Payscale

How much referees earn is actually a little more complicated than you would initially think. Premier League referees are part of Select Group One, which contains 21 officials. They are paid between £73,000 and £148,000 a year as a salary but this depends on how much experience they have at the top level. For example, Anthony Taylor, who has been a Premier League referee since 2010, would earn more than Sam Barrot, who was only promoted to SG1 at the beginning of this season.

Match Officials Mic’d Up | Audio between the on-field and VAR officials as well as the explanation behind the decision-making process for a number of incidents from the latest #PL match rounds ⤵️

— PGMOL (@FA_PGMOL) February 19, 2025

Premier League Referee Salary Per Match

On top of their base salary, pl referees also generally earn a match fee of £1,100 for every match that they officiate. UEFA and FIFA match fees differ slightly, but a lot of SG1 referees also earn money by officiating these competitions too. UK referees are among the best paid footballing officials in the world, probably down to the fact that the Premier League is the most watched domestic football league.

Premier League referees can earn bonuses throughout the course of a season, as they are assessed on their performances by an independent reviewing body. The Key Match Incidents Panel is made up of former coaches and players as well as officials from the PGMOL, the body in charge of English referees.

How Much Are Assistant Referees Paid?

Assistant referees or linesmen are also well paid in the Premier League, earning a salary of £60,000 as well as a match fee for each game. Fourth officials tend to be SG1 referees, as does the main VAR official. Assistant VAR salaries are undisclosed, but it is likely to be similar to that of assistant on field referees.

SG2 referees in the Championship and below are paid less than SG1 referees, but their salaries are not publicly available. Sometimes they act as fourth officials in Premier League games, however that tends to not be the case.

There you have it, a salary breakdown of a football related job probably often looked over in terms of being well paid. If you ever asked yourself "how much do premier league refs make?" out of sheer curiosity or because you are one of the few people who have a dream of pursuing such a career, then we hope you found your answers!