The Championship play-off final at Wembley is the most commercially significant match apart from the scrutiny of continental eyes.
Each season, the Champions League final may be the highlight of European football as some of the best teams on the planet clash, but it is not always the most lucrative.
The second division of English football reaches a heated conclusion whenever two teams compete for a place in the Premier League. Such a stage in the Championship campaign is known as the Championship’s play-offs.
The victorious team will be awarded a position in the Premier League, which comes with a slew of advantages.
The teams who compete in the championship play-offs share millions of pounds, with equal television revenues and merit-based prizes assuring a reasonably even distribution of the riches.
It’s no surprise that the Championship play-off final is labeled “The Richest Game in Football”. Futballnews examines how much a victory in that match is worth.
How much does the winner of the Championship Play-offs get?
Winning the Championship play-off final and advancing to the Premier League is thought to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, though this varies season to season.
According to Deloitte, winning the play-off final in 2020 might result in an increase in revenue of £135 million ($167 million) to £265 million ($328 million), depending on whether a promoted side can avoid quick relegation.
The Premier League’s 20 clubs shared more than £2.5 billion ($3 billion) in broadcast money in the 2020-21 season, according to official estimates.
Each club was guaranteed at least £31.4 million ($38.9 million) in equal share payments, £47.5 million ($58.8 million) in international television, and £5.9 million ($7.3 million) in central commercial payments, for a total of £84.8 million ($105 million) per team, regardless of position.
In addition, teams received merit bonuses ranging from £1.7 million ($2.1 million) for last-placed Sheffield United to £34.9 million ($43.2 million) for champions Manchester City, as well as ‘facility fees’ based on the amount of broadcast games they played.
A team’s success in the Championship play-off final catapults them into that exclusive money pool, providing them much more spending power in the transfer market.
How does the ‘prize money’ in the Premier League work?
The amount a team receives for competing in the Premier League is determined by their on-field success as well as the frequency with which their games are shown live on television.
Tottenham, for example, finished seventh in 2020-21 but earned slightly more money overall than West Ham, who finished sixth.
Spurs were part of 25 live UK games, while the Hammers were featured in 22.
Being a member of the Premier League elite, of course, implies that teams become a more appealing proposition for sponsors, and they are therefore able to compete for more possible cash streams in that regard.
What are Parachute Payments and How Do They Work?
Even if the Premier League season is a complete failure, the teams involved will still make a lot of money.
Clubs that are relegated back to the Championship are paid ‘Parachute Payments,’ which are designed to effectively break the fall into the second division, in addition to television revenue for participation in the competition.
These payments are a proportion of the equitable share of television revenue, which gradually decreases over three years, from 55 percent to 45 percent, and then to 20% in the third year if the club has been in the Premier League for more than one season.
