The Scottish Premiership season has perhaps gone as expected. Celtic are top of the pile after an excellent start to the season, and they look on track for a fourth league title in a row.
Glasgow Rangers are second despite some shoddy domestic form which cost Philippe Clement his job, while the chase for third is between Aberdeen, Hibernian and Dundee United.
The likes of Hearts, St Mirren and Motherwell are battling it out for a place in the top six ahead of the split, while St Johnstone look doomed at the bottom of the table.
Doing well in Scotland could see a manager secure a bigger job elsewhere – one that offers a great financial package, along with opportunities in better leagues.
As such, just how much are the managers paid in the Scottish top flight? Here, we rank each Premiership manager by their annual wage.
No salary information is currently available for Motherwell’s Michael Wimmer or Hearts boss Neil Critchley, with both managers joining their current clubs mid-season. The same applies to interim Rangers boss Barry Ferguson, with predecessor Clement thought to be on a salary of £1.5m per year.
Rank
Manager
Club
Salary per year
Brendan Rodgers
Celtic
David Gray
Hibernian
Jimmy Thelin
Aberdeen
Simo Valakari
St Johnstone
Stephen Robinson
St Mirren
Derek McInnes
Kilmarnock
Don Cowie
Ross County
Tony Docherty
Dundee
Jim Goodwin
Dundee United
9 Jim Goodwin (Dundee United) £180k per year
Dundee United have been the surprise package in the Premiership this season. Jim Goodwin was hounded out of Aberdeen after a dismal loss to Darvel in the Scottish Cup back in 2023, but he has proved everyone wrong so far at Tannadice.
The Arabs are still in with a shout of European qualification and have taken points off both Celtic and Rangers this term.
Goodwin earns £180k per year, which is perhaps undervaluing him compared to his counterparts.
8 Tony Docherty (Dundee) £180k per year
Tony Docherty is doing a solid job at Dundee since taking over the club ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
He led the Dens Park outfit to a wonderful top-six finish in the top flight last season, allowing them to play against the likes of Rangers and Celtic after the split, giving them a chance of qualifying for Europe.
Docherty developed players such as Luke McCowan and Lyall Cameron. The former joined Celtic last summer while Cameron has signed a pre-contact deal with Rangers.
Docherty is paid £180k per year at Dundee.
7 Don Cowie (Ross County) £200k per year
Ross County manager Don Cowie has a fight on his hands if he is to avoid another relegation playoff with the club.
Last season, the Highland side defeated Raith Rovers to maintain their top-flight status and hopes were high that they could move towards the top six. Instead, they are in the thick of another relegation battle.
Cowie has been in charge of County since 2024 and is thought to earn £200k per year at the club.
6 Derek McInnes (Kilmarnock) £200k per year
Derek McInnes led Aberdeen to their first trophy in nearly 20 years back in 2014, but things later turned sour, leading to his departure in 2021.
He has revitalised Kilmarnock during his spell in Ayr. He led the club back into the Premiership in 2022 before securing a superb fourth-place finish in 2023/24, including a victory over Rangers in the process.
For his troubles, McInnes takes home £200k per year.
5 Stephen Robinson (St Mirren) £225k per year
Stephen Robinson has done an excellent job since moving to St Mirren in 2022. He led the club to back-to-back top-six finishes in the top flight for the first time in the club’s history.
The Buddies have an outside chance of another placing in the top six at the time of writing, but they did enjoy European football at the start of the season. Robinson earns £225k per year at St Mirren.
4 Simo Valakari (St Johnstone) £250k-per-year
St Johnstone manager Simo Valakari has a huge job on his hands preventing the Saints from slipping out of the top flight this season.
They are stranded at the bottom of the table and it looks like a matter of time before their demotion is confirmed. It will take a remarkable recovery to move up the league table from here.
Valakari earns £250k per year in Perth, though that may not be the case in a few weeks’ time.
3 Jimmy Thelin (Aberdeen) £250k per year
Jimmy Thelin led Aberdeen to a stunning start in the 2024/25 season, earning a draw with Celtic while also securing three points against a disjointed Rangers side in October to threaten a top-two finish.
However, since a hammering in the League Cup semi-final by Celtic at the start of November, the Dons have been wildly out of sorts. Aberdeen remain in the race for third, but they will be frustrated to have taken advantage of their superb start.
The Swede earns £250k per year in the north-east.
2 David Gray (Hibernian) £275k per year
David Gray endured a difficult start as Hibs boss, but he was backed by the board and has since taken the club to the cusp of third place after some excellent results.
More positive results between now and May will see the Easter Road outfit secure a European spot. He earns £275k per year – the highest-paid manager outside the Old Firm.
1 Brendan Rodgers (Celtic) £2.5m per year
Brendan Rodgers is on the cusp of leading Celtic to yet another treble. He claimed all three trophies during the first two seasons of his initial spell at Parkhead.
The club’s narrow defeat to Bayern Munich in the Champions League proves that he is finally adapting to European football, evidenced by the fact the club secured qualification for the play-off round.
He currently earns £2.5m per year at the club, and if he does win all three domestic trophies, he could yet demand more.