Former Sunderland man Jack Rodwell raked in a hefty wage during his Wearside stay.
Sunderland’s 2017/18 season saw the Black Cats succumb to a second successive relegation, going straight down to League One after a disastrous Championship campaign.
The Black Cats had several issues on and off the pitch, and they clearly never recovered from Sam Allardyce’s departure from Sunderland. One of the key issues was the accumulation of players that simply couldn’t live up to the hgh expectations and demands.
Lewis Grabban departed Sunderland in January, and Ashley Fletcher struggled to replicate his talents from the winter window onwards, whilst off the pitch, financial issues contributed to the struggle.
Some players were on incredibly high wages for the Championship, including Jack Rodwell, who was on a £70,000 p/w week, despite playing very little football in that season.
We looked at just how much he cost Sunderland per game played that season.
How much Sunderland paid Jack Rodwell per game in 2017/18 Championship season
Unfortunately for Rodwell, injury issues plagued his 2017/18 season, and he was left surplus to requirements at times, despite raking in a reported £70,000 p/w wage, according to Capology.
As a result of this, it means that Rodwell was on an annual salary of £3,640,000. Rodwell played a total of three games, including the draw against Sheffield United, which saw the midfielder bag an equaliser late on, and he earned a total of £1,213,333.33 per game. In fact, Rodwell, according to SofaScore, in his three appearances accumulated 94 touches of the ball during the 2017/17 season, meaning that he earned £38,723.40 per touch.
Rodwell was painted as the bad guy in the Netflix series Sunderland ‘Til I Die after he turned down an offer to move elsewhere, but the former Manchester City man has spoken about his side of the story before.
What Jack Rodwell said about Sunderland spell
Last season, Rodwell found himself playing for Australian side Sydney FC. During his time at the club, he commented on his experiences at Sunderland, all of which were negative, understandably.
Per Sport Optus, Rodwell said: “The thing that bugs me about it – especially afterwards – is, ‘For Jack it was just the money.’ If it was just the money, I would have stayed at Man City.
“So I went from winning the Premier League to pretty much, the bottom of the league, Sunderland. They’d just survived relegation that year. So I went from top to bottom purely because I wanted to play and I didn’t want to just sit there and take money. That’s not the player I am. I was forced to see out the season with the reserves, which, you know, it is what it is. But it’s just the fact that they sort of made it out that I was the scapegoat.”
Rodwell’s hefty wages certainly did play a part in Sunderland’s financial difficulties during this period, but not many in his situation would have taken a pay cut from the club and chairman that offered these terms in the beginning. Whilst it was Rodwell painted in a bad light in the Netflix show, it showed more the mismanagement from the higher-ups at the club.