Sunderland's spending on agents' fees has dropped to its lowest total since the club slipped into League One - with three third tier clubs paying out more than the Black Cats. The Football Association has released details of how much each club in the Premier League and the EFL has paid out to agents in 2021-22.
And the figures show that Sunderland handed over a total of £310,244 to agents between February 2021 and the end of January this year, a period that covers two transfer windows, along with all contract renewals completed during that 12-month spell. Transactions completed during the last 12 months included the permanent arrivals of Alex Pritchard, Corry Evans, Patrick Roberts, Jay Matete, Danny Batth, Trai Hume, Niall Huggins, and Dennis Cirkin, loan arrivals of Nathan Broadhead, Thorben Hoffmann, and Leon Dajaku, and new contracts for senior men such as Dan Neil, Luke O'Nien, Aiden McGeady, Jack Diamond, and Elliot Embleton.
Sunderland's spending was down from £406,207 in last year's figures, which was itself a massive reduction on the £1,346,373 spent in 2019-20, and £2,873,033 in 2018-19, as the club dealt with the fall-out following back-to-back relegations. Sunderland were the biggest spenders in terms of agents' fees in the club's first two years in League One, and the second biggest spender last year.
But this year the club ranked fourth, with Sheffield Wednesday (£796,224), Ipswich Town (£779,739), and Wigan Athletic (£355,774), all paying more. Crewe Alexandra (£3,750) were the lowest spenders in the division.
Overall, spending across League One rose significantly as the financial impact of the Covid pandemic eased. The total spend for clubs over the last 12 months was £4,426,888, compared to £3,082,105 in 2020-21.
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