When Arsenal formally announced Bukayo Saka’s new contract on February 19 2026, it was a statement about where Nigerian-heritage talent now sits in the global football economy.
Bukayo Saka’s parents, Adenike and Yomi Saka, are of Nigerian Yoruba descent and emigrated to London in the 1990s as economic migrants.
His family is among the many Nigerians who left the country during that period.
The Ealing-born Arsenal winger has just signed a five-year deal worth in excess of 300,000 pounds per week until 2031, making him now Arsenal’s highest earner.
Nairametrics understands that over the life of the deal, Saka will earn £78 million in base salary, even before image rights, bonuses, and his endorsement partnerships with Adidas, Pepsi, and others.
More than ever before, the market value of Nigerian and Nigerian-descent footballers is at an all-time high. From Istanbul to Madrid, from Bergamo to north London, Nigerians in the diaspora, playing the most followed sport in Nigeria, are reshaping the financial map of world football.
Nairametrics’s Nigerian business in diaspora desk ranks the ten highest-earning footballers of Nigerian heritage in 2026 based on weekly wages, contract value, club status, and endorsement power.
- Weekly Wage (Est.) : 255,000 pounds
- Annual Salary (Est.) : 13.3 million pounds
- Contract Until : 2029
If one adds up Victor Osimhen’s performance bonuses, goal and appearance incentives, image-rights payments, and major endorsement deals, he makes around 310,000 pounds per week.
He reached this level of affluence after completing his permanent move to Galatasaray from Napoli in the summer of 2025 for a transfer fee of almost 65 million pounds. The deal made him the most expensive purchase in Turkish football history. He is also the highest-paid player in Super Lig history by a considerable margin.
Considering that Bukayo Saka plays for England despite his Nigerian roots, Osimhen earns more than any other Nigerian footballer in the world today. He also earns a EUR 1 million annual loyalty bonus and EUR 5 million in image rights compensation.
The Lagos-born striker’s pedigree justifies the investment. He was a Serie A top scorer, the 2023 African Best Player winner, and the second-highest goal scorer ever for the Nigeria Super Eagles. He has scored 35 goals for the Nigeria senior national team in 51 appearances, just behind the record holder, Rashidi Yekini at 37 goals.
Before he reached this level, the 25-year-old played for Wolfsburg (Germany), Charleroi (Belgium), and Lille (France).
