With packed fixture schedules and little in the way of recovery time, top tier competition is about so much more than a starting XI these days.
For the most part, Newcastle United tend to follow that trend, and having 26 different senior starters over the course of last season's Premier League campaign shows that Steve Bruce’s men are just about average in that regard.
Even taking that figure into account, however, there were some players who – whether it be through injury or other reasons – were on the club’s books without making much of an on-field impact.
But which benchwarmer cost the Magpies the most money for the least output last term?
New research from OLBG has discovered the Premier League players who were paid the most but played the least in 2020/21.
Click and scroll through their findings for each club below…

9. Manchester City - Philippe Sandler
Weekly wage: £24,000 Annual salary: £1.248m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.248m (Photo by Paul Harding/Getty Images) Photo: Paul Harding

10. Leicester City - Eldin Jakupovic
Weekly wage: £27,000 Annual salary: £1.404m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.404m (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) Photo: Shaun Botterill

11. Everton - Muhamed Besic
Weekly wage: £29,000 Annual salary: £1.508m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.508m (Photo by Nathan Stirk/Getty Images) Photo: Nathan Stirk

12. West Brom - Nathan Ferguson
Weekly wage: £34,000 Annual salary: £1.768m Minutes played: 0 Earning per minute played: £1.768m (Photo by Lewis Storey/Getty Images) Photo: Lewis Storey

