Still On The BenchPremier League · 2026/27
Matchweek 9 of 38

Who is being paid to keep the bench warm

They are being paid. They are not playing. Here is what that costs.

21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027 · Matchweek 9 of 38.

An English park bench in autumn leaves. A blue tit sits on the left arm. The seat is empty.
Reserved for Viktor Gyökeres. The wage clears either way.

Paid the most to sit · Matchweek 9 of 38

Viktor Gyökeres

Arsenal have paid £1.61m this season for minutes not played.

Matchweek 9 of 38

  1. Top three: Gyökeres, then Rashford (£79k of benched wages behind), then Bruno G.
  2. Christmas is matchweeks 17 to 20. If the table froze tonight, Gyökeres would still be top. 8 matchweeks until Boxing Day.
  3. One more matchweek, then the international break (9–17 November). The wages still go out.

21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027. 38 matchweeks.

Top 20 Premier League players by benched wages this season. Published wages only. Injury stops the clock; banked sits stay. Red cross: injured. Dark mark: suspended or unavailable. Amber mark: doubtful, still on the clock.
# ± Player Club Benched minutes £ / week £ / minute Benched wages
1=Viktor GyökeresARS657/810£220k£2,444.44£1.61m
2▲1Marcus RashfordMUN458/810£300k£3,333.33£1.53m
3▼1Bruno Guimarães Rodriguez MouraARS512/810£250k£2,777.78£1.42m
4▲2Ryan GravenberchLIV440/781£280k£3,111.11£1.37m
5▼1Eberechi EzeARS601/810£200k£2,222.22£1.34m
6▲3Jack GrealishEVE506/810£225k£2,500.00£1.26m
7=Mateo KovačićMCI719/810£150k£1,666.67£1.20m
8=Tammy AbrahamAVL739/810£145k£1,611.11£1.19m
9▲5Matthijs de LigtMUN540/540£195k£2,166.67£1.17m
10▲3James MaddisonTOT617/810£170k£1,888.89£1.17m
11▼6Marco PalestraCHE693/810£150k£1,666.67£1.16m
12=Mason MountMUN670/810£150k£1,666.67£1.12m
13▼3Leon GoretzkaAVL449/540£220k£2,444.44£1.10m
14▲1Taylor Harwood-BellisAVL810/810£120k£1,333.33£1.08m
15▲1Rayan Aït-NouriMCI810/810£120k£1,333.33£1.08m
16▲4Marcos Senesi BarónTOT632/810£150k£1,666.67£1.05m
17▲4Federico ChiesaLIV628/630£150k£1,666.67£1.05m
18=Enzo FernándezMCI267/810£350k£3,888.89£1.04m
19=Alejandro Garnacho FerreyraAVL776/810£120k£1,333.33£1.03m
20▼9Moisés Caicedo CorozoCHE460/810£200k£2,222.22£1.02m

20 clubs. 564 players still at a Premier League club (22–34 per side). Published weekly wages from FBref (via Capology) for 410 of them. This table is the top 20 of 381 with benched minutes. 29 have played every minute. 60 are injured or suspended (clock stopped; banked benched minutes stay). 10 are doubtful (still on the clock). Gross pay; many wage figures are estimates.

What this is

Still On The Bench is an independent English-language table of Premier League benched wages. The joke is the club’s cheque. The player on the park bench is the wooden-spoon champion of sitting. It is not a shop, not tips, and not an official stats product.

How the numbers work

Minutes come from the public Fantasy Premier League player list — who played, who sat, who is injured. That is not an official Premier League feed.

Weekly wages come from FBref (compiled by Capology). Gross pay. Many rows are estimates. If there is no published wage, the player is not on this list.

Benched wages are weekly pay × minutes not played / 90. Benched minutes are sat / available. £ / minute is the weekly wage ÷ 90. Two matches sat is 180. A week their club does not play is not 90. Sitting already banked stays banked — playing later does not wipe August. A red cross means injured. A dark mark means suspended or unavailable. Both stop the clock. An amber mark means doubtful — still on the clock. Wages only — not transfer fees. The table shows the top 20. ▲ and ▼ are places versus last matchweek, not league position. NEW means they were not on this table last matchweek. It does not mean we just found their wage.

The 2026/27 season runs 21 August 2026 to 30 May 2027, 38 matchweeks. Christmas is matchweeks 17 to 20. Every player with a published wage has a page at /player/… and every club at /club/….

Injury marks on a frozen matchweek page are only as complete as that freeze. Matchweeks 1–4 were stored before status was kept, so some older injury icons are missing on purpose — we do not paint today’s injury onto August.

Pictures — kit colours we drew. The substitution board is a stock photo (Homer Lopez / Unsplash). The park bench is an English bench (Elliott Blair / Unsplash). Not Premier League photos, not crests, not faces.

Questions

What does Still On The Bench show?
It ranks Premier League players who have a published weekly wage and benched minutes. Benched wages are weekly pay × minutes not played / 90. Two matches sat is 180. A week their club does not play is not 90. Sitting already banked stays banked. Injury stops the clock; it does not wipe earlier pine. A red cross means injured. A dark mark means suspended or unavailable. Both stop the clock. An amber mark means doubtful; they are still on the clock.
Where do the numbers come from?
Minutes come from the public Fantasy Premier League player list. Weekly wages come from FBref, compiled by Capology. Gross pay. Many figures are estimates. If there is no published wage, the player is not on the list. A blank is not £0.
Is this an official Premier League product?
No. Still On The Bench is not affiliated with the Premier League, the clubs, or Fantasy Premier League.
What do the arrows mean?
Places up or down on this benched-wages table versus last matchweek. That is not league position. NEW means they were not on this table last matchweek — the first week of the season, they just arrived, or they had no benched minutes then. It does not mean we just found their wage.
Do transfer fees count?
No. Wages only.
Why is a player not on the list?
Anyone who has played every available minute is left off. Anyone without a published wage is left off. Injured and suspended players stay if they already banked benched minutes — they just do not add more while they are out.