What every GAA county spent in 2025 as Tipp top the bill

Nevertheless, overall team administration expenditure climbed to a new high with almost €1.8m more spent across the board. The average spend per county is now €1.425m when it was €607k in 2011.

Despite the football inter-county playing season being reduced by seven weeks and hurling by six, counties’ total outlay on their squads is now close to double what it was in 2016 when the total figure was €23.315m. As previously reported by the Irish Examiner, in 2025 there was in excess of €1m more spent in Munster and over €900k in Leinster.

Although they made savings in some areas, All-Ireland SHC champions Tipperary were the biggest spenders with team administration costs of €2.483m followed by Galway (€2.3m), SHC runners-up Cork (€2.208m), Limerick (€2.196m) and All-Ireland SFC finalists Kerry (€2.123m) and Donegal (€2.094m).

While almost a quarter of counties broke the €2m barrier, 21 spent between €1m and €2m preparing their sides last year. Of those, Waterford, who were minor hurling champions in 2025, recorded the largest spending jump of €307,880 followed by Monaghan whose bill went up by €300,573.

After their All-Ireland SFC campaign was ended by Kerry at the quarter-final stage, 2024 victors Armagh showed the biggest savings of all the counties with €511,594 and ’24 finalists Galway were next, spending €405,430 less. Despite reaching a second successive All-Ireland SHC final, Cork were able to reduce their overheads by €178,000.

As the total inter-county team bill (London, New York etc. included) hit €44m last year, GAA director general Tom Ryan warned they had to stop the trend. "It's difficult to see how the level we have now, where that's going to take us in five to 10 years’s time if we don't arrest it.”

The amateur status review committee are bringing forward measures to next month’s Congress aimed at cutting expenditure on teams. One of them is a high-performance licensing agreement whereby counties will have to adhere to rules and regulations in order to participate in competitions.

GAA president Jarlath Burns outlined the plan last month: "There will be a greater framework around the close season, around the amount of money being spent, particularly given with the interest the Revenue have shown in matters around the payment of people who are around county teams. We hope by that evolutionary process that we start to get costs down."

In his annual report released on Tuesday, Munster GAA chief Kieran Leddy was optimistic about the licensing initiative being a form of equalisation.

“The costs associated with team preparation and the time demands being placed on amateur players must also be tackled and kept in check,” wrote Leddy.

“It is the sustainability of the organisation in terms of the time expected and the financial cost of team preparation that is our big issue and what we must be most careful of, particularly given the stated desire of the three Gaelic games associations to integrate.

“I hope that the proposed certification programme will help to level the playing field in terms of what counties can spend on teams. This is essential to maintain a level of fairness.

“How can a county that spends €1m on preparations of its teams be expected to compete with a county that can spend twice that?”

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