How much money do Championship play-off final winners get for Premier League promotion?

Wembley is all set for the play-off final (Picture: Getty)

Sheffield United face Sunderland at Wembley today with promotion to the Premier League at stake.

Sheffield United are eyeing a return to the Premier League at the very first time of asking, whilst Sunderland are hoping to ply their trade in the top flight of English football for the first time since the 2016/17 season.

The Championship play-off final has often been described as the most lucrative game in the world, with the winner able to enjoy the treasures of football’s richest league.

But exactly how lucrative is it and how catastrophic could losing the final be from a money perspective?

What is the prize money for winning the Championship play-off final?

There is no direct and definitive prize for winning the final but promotion to the Premier League comes with many financial benefits.

Estimations vary, but previous estimates by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group say that the victorious club could see their revenue increase by at least £140million over the next three seasons.

This is because of the lucrative parachute payments that are handed out should a club be relegated back to the Championship, but if they avoid the drop in their first season, this figure could increase to over £305m.

Sheffield United are hoping for an immediate return to the Premier League (Picture: Getty)

This takes into account the projected increases in matchday, broadcast, and commercial revenue, with clubs receiving £31m in TV commercial payments for just being in the Premier League.

Interestingly, as Sheffield United were relegated last year, they were still earning upwards of £100m this season thanks to the parachute payments.

As a result, Sheffield United can expect to be on the lower side of those estimations, but Sunderland, who haven’t played in the Premier League for eight years, are expected to see their revenue go up by at least £200m.

What can happen to the losers?

As part of a gentlemen’s agreement, the loser in the final takes a share of the gate receipts, which usually comes to around £2m – a rather paltry prize in comparison to the winner.

Sunderland will start the game as underdogs (Picture: Getty)

In recent seasons, clubs that lose the play-off final have suffered financial ruin and relegation to the lower tiers in the years following, though this can also be attributed to mismanagement by the owners.

The most notably example is Derby County, who spent big on a promotion campaign only to be defeated at Wembley by Aston Villa in 2019. In 2021, they fell into administration and were subsequently relegated to League One.

Reading missed out on promotion after losing on penalties to Huddersfield Town in 2017. This season they finished 17th in League One, and are going through a long and arduous take-over process.

Finally, Huddersfield were relegated from the Premier League in 2019, narrowly lost the play-off final to Nottingham Forest in 2022, and this year were relegated to the third-tier.

When is the Championship play-off final?

Kick-off for the Wembley final is today (Saturday, May 24) at 3.01pm.

Sheffield United finished third in the Championship on 90 points and faced Bristol City in the play-off semi-final, beating them 6-0 over the two legs.

Sunderland, meanwhile, were fourth on 76 points and beat Coventry City 3-2 on aggregate courtesy of a dramatic winner from Dan Ballard in the final minute of extra-time.

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