Haaland tops Premier League top earners on Instagram at $3.9M
The Premier League has opened its first season without gambling sponsors on the front of matchday shirts, closing a roughly two-decade era of such front-of-shirt deals. Brands continue to pursue football audiences through other routes, and players' personal Instagram reach now heavily influences which commercial partnerships clubs and individuals secure.
PlayersTime compiled the ranking by selecting the 20 most-followed Instagram profiles in each of 40 countries and applying the midpoint of Social Cat's projected revenue ranges for sponsored posts. The resulting figures are modelled estimates of potential earnings rather than confirmed contract values or disclosed income.
The top 10 Premier League earners by estimated potential per sponsored post begin with Erling Haaland of Manchester City at 77.2 million followers and $3.9 million per post. Marcus Rashford of Manchester United follows at 22.4 million followers and $910.1 thousand per post. Martin Ødegaard of Arsenal ranks third at 7.8 million followers and $268.6 thousand per post. Xavi Simons of Tottenham Hotspur stands fourth at 6.7 million followers and $248.2 thousand per post. Dominik Szoboszlai of Liverpool is fifth at 5.6 million followers and $246.7 thousand per post.
Positions six through ten continue with Alexander Isak of Liverpool at 3.1 million followers and $196.1 thousand per post. Diogo Dalot of Manchester United follows at 3.9 million followers and $159.4 thousand per post. Milos Kerkez of Liverpool is eighth at 5.1 million followers and $114 thousand per post. Joško Gvardiol of Manchester City ranks ninth at 1.9 million followers and $99.5 thousand per post. Mateo Kovacic of Manchester City completes the list at 5.2 million followers and $66.2 thousand per post.
Haaland ranks as the highest Premier League player on the global list, placing third overall behind only Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. The Athletic reported his Nike contract at approximately €23 million annually. CBS Sports listed his Manchester City weekly wage near $610,000 upon signing his new deal, making one modelled sponsored post equivalent to more than six weeks of club pay. A University of Navarra study recorded Haaland gaining 34.5 million followers during the World Cup, rising from 40.8 million to 75.3 million. He also drew attention for replying "See you there" to a Dubai schoolboy's viral video in which the boy promised his father would take him to watch Norway if Haaland responded.
Rashford is the only other Premier League player above $900,000 in modelled potential, with his 22.4 million followers the second-highest total after Haaland on the list.
Xavi Simons and Dominik Szoboszlai complete the Premier League top five with modelled potentials between $246,700 and $268,600 per post. Earning estimates depend on engagement rates rather than follower totals alone. Alexander Isak records the list's highest engagement rate at 6.29 percent despite his 3.1 million followers, while Mateo Kovacic shows 1.27 percent engagement with 5.2 million followers.
Sports accounts for 151 of the 800 profiles examined, ranking second behind Entertainment & Music at 265 accounts and just ahead of Fashion & Beauty at 142 accounts. Data analyst Diliana Hristova at PlayersTime observed that "Players who run their Instagram like a lifestyle channel, with personality, humour, and everyday life, are likely to be the ones brands pay most for, while those who treat it as a matchday noticeboard are likely to fall behind."
The report titled "The Economics of Influence: Instagram’s Highest-Earning Accounts in 2026" identifies Erling Haaland as the Premier League’s top Instagram earner at the modelled $3.9 million per sponsored post.
