Are Ryan Reynolds & Rob McElhenney paying Championship wages at Wrexham? Director explains how Red Dragons have been able to sign Elliot Lee & Paul Mullin without breaking the bank

The Red Dragons have enjoyed a meteoric rise on and off the field since welcoming Hollywood co-owners to SToK Racecourse in 2021. There has been plenty of discussion regarding elaborate spending, with the Red Dragons accused by some of buying success.

Wrexham have pulled off some notable transfer deals, as proven EFL players dropped down to the National League, but Humphrey Ker insists that is not down to paying second-tier salaries. The club’s executive director has told talkSPORT: “We haven’t paid anyone a Championship-level wage, I can assure you of that. Our players have been paid well because they have taken a big chance on coming on this journey with us. If you are asking a player to drop from League One to the National League, as we did with someone like Elliot Lee, one of the big things we have been able to do is give people stability. We have given three-year contracts, which are quite rare at that level, because we have told these players that ‘we are asking you to drop below the level that you should be at and we recognise that is a risk – it is a risk for you, it is a risk for your family’. So we have done that, but we haven’t done it in a way that Rob and Ryan are paying for those things, it’s the revenues that we have generated.”

Wrexham have secured back-to-back promotions, taking them into League One, and Ker added on ambition heading into a first third-tier campaign for 20 years: “I would be content if we finish 10th because it would allow us to consolidate and build. Phil [Parkinson] won’t be content to do that, Elliot Lee won’t, Paul Mullin, the players that we have in the building want to win. They want to get back to where they feel they belong, or get to where they feel they belong as they haven’t played there yet in their careers. I think we have every chance of achieving something special again next year. I don’t know if we will go up again, but I think we can get into the play-offs. You never know.”

More recruitment plans are in the process of being drawn up, ahead of the summer window, with movement in and out of SToK Racecourse expected over the coming months as Reynolds and McElhenney once again seek to make Wrexham as competitive as possible in 2024-25.