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.
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10. Ola Aina|| Club: Nottingham Forest (England, Premier League)
10. Ola Aina|| Club: Nottingham Forest (England, Premier League)
9. Calvin Bassey||Club: Fulham (England, Premier League)
8. Taiwo Awoniyi||Club: Nottingham Forest (England, Premier League)
7. Wilfred Ndidi||Club: Besiktas (Turkey, Süper Lig)
6. Alex Iwobi||Club: Fulham (England, Premier League)
5. Victor Boniface||Parent Club: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany, Bundesliga) || On Loan at Werder Bremen (Germany, Bundesliga)
4. Samuel Chukwueze||Parent Club: AC Milan, Italy (Serie A) || On Loan at Fulham (England, Premier League)
3. Ademola Lookman||Club: Atletico Madrid (Spain, Laliga)
2. Victor Osimhen|| Club: Galatasaray (Turkey, Süper Lig)
1. Bukayo Saka || Club: Arsenal (England, Premier League)
Weekly Wage (Est.): 40,000 pounds
Annual Salary (Est.) : 2.1 million pounds
Contract Until: 2026
Between 2011 and 2016, Ola Aina represented England at various youth football development levels. But in May 2017, he officially switched his international allegiance from England to Nigeria.
While he may sign a new deal that will make him earn more or leave for another club in the summer of 2026, the Chelsea academy product has enjoyed a respectable and financially successful career across Italy and England.
The 29-year-old fullback has also remained one of the most reliable in his position, which could make him earn more money when he signs a new contract.
He has played 48 times for our country’s Super Eagles.