Championship play-off prize money: What’s at stake for Sheffield United and Sunderland?

The lure of the Premier League for Championship sides has arguably taken a hit with the ever-increasing gap in quality between the two divisions, as the teams going up face the near-impossible job of securing survival.

In recent seasons, the joy of promotion has quickly worn off for the Premier League newbies on the end of one-sided hammerings in most games, but the rollercoaster ride to get there makes the misery awaiting them in the top flight worthwhile.

Leeds United and Burnley have gone about their return to the Premier League the easier way, as the Championship’s best two teams amassed 100 points to seal their spots in the automatic promotion places.

Yet if you are going to get promoted, you would much rather get there via the play-off route, with Sheffield United and Sunderland having earned the privilege of a one-game shootout at Wembley for a return to the Premier League.

There is always immense hype surrounding a Championship play-off final, and this season’s is no different. But the actual game often proves a damp squib, with the two teams weighed down by the enormity of the occasion and what’s at stake.

Hopefully, Sheffield United and Sunderland buck this trend when they meet on the Saturday afternoon of Spring Bank weekend (May 24). But a tight and tense game is likely, with the 2025 Championship play-off final the most lucrative ever. Here’s what is up for grabs in the so-called ‘richest game in football’, with special credit to BBC Sport for providing some of the most important figures.

READ: Wretched Southampton fire themselves into list of earliest Premier League relegations ever

How much is the Championship play-off final worth?

Well, eye-watering figures are at stake for Sheffield United and Sunderland at Wembley, with the winner set to receive a minimum (yes, a MINIMUM) of £220m in extra income next season.

This marks a huge £80m increase on the £140m figure in 2024 (which was actually down from £170m in 2023 and 2022) and it’s £42m higher than the previous biggest when £178m was available in 2021.

It is also worth noting that Sheffield United’s earnings increase will be less than Sunderland’s as Chris Wilder’s side have had the benefit of parachute payments this season, which would obviously halt if they are promoted back to the Premier League.

There are also the League One and League Two play-off finals taking place at Wembley, with these respective games *only* worth an extra £12m and £2m in boosted income to the winning side. There’s little wonder the gulf from the Premier League to teams in the Football League is increasing.

MORE PRIZE MONEY FEATURES FOR THE GEEKS…
👉 Premier League prize money table revealed with Liverpool breaking Manchester City record
👉 Champions League prize money: Declan Rice has paid his record Arsenal fee back
👉 Club World Cup prize money estimated: Chelsea and Manchester City fighting for ‘biggest-ever’ reward

Parachute payments

There is also the not-so-small matter of commercial fees, facility fees and merit payments for Sheff Utd or Sunderland, who would also be entitled to parachute payments if/when they get relegated from the Premier League.

For those unaware, parachute payments are split into three sections. In their first year back in the Championship, they would earn 55% of their Premier League broadcast revenue, before this drops to 45% and 20% in the subsequent seasons.

As mentioned, these benefits would stop if a team is promoted back to the Premier League within three years, with Leeds United being paid around £49m in their first season of receiving parachute payments in 2023/24.

BBC Sport’s report also reveals that following the introduction of a new broadcast deal, a team stands to receive £101.6m in total if they fail to return to the Premier League in three years.

How could a defeat impact the loser at Wembley?

While the potential benefits are massive for the victor at Wembley, it’s been proven that a loss in the Championship play-off final can be catastrophic.

One plus for the runners-up is that they would receive a payment of around £2m in their share of the gate from a sold-out Wembley, but this is where the good news ends.

This token gesture often does not make up for what’s lost at Wembley, especially for sides who take a financial risk with a huge investment on signings in January and the previous summer to pursue the dangling carrot of Premier League football.

Usually, the loser in the Championship play-off final does not follow up their success with another tilt at promotion, with Leeds United going against the grain following last season’s Wembley defeat to Southampton with their superior squad.

In the six previous years between 2023 and 2017, only two of the six Championship play-off final losers got promoted the next year and both (Aston Villa in 2017/18 and Brentford in 2019/20) did so via winning at Wembley at the second time of asking. In other cases, teams have fallen off a cliff and slipped into the bottom half in the following season.

Premier League prize money

Sheffield United or Sunderland will also join Leeds United and Burnley in profiting from the Premier League’s new broadcast deal (which is due to last for four years), which will see clubs earn around £400,000 more per season at an average of £83.75m.

There are also huge sums on offer for their Premier League positions next season.

For an inkling of what clubs could earn next season, 20th-placed Southampton (pretty underdeservingly) are set to take home £2.8m, which jumps to £5.7m for 19th and £8.5m for 18th. Should any of the promoted sides miraculously stay up, they would receive around £11.3m, with sorry Spurs set to be paid this figure if they cannot leapfrog Manchester United in the table.

The promoted sides would also earn a pretty penny from TV revenue, with each game equating to around £0.8m, though this is not a set figure.

This season, Ipswich Town have earned around £9.3m for their ten matches, while Southampton have landed £10.1m for eleven and Leicester City got £12.2m for 14.

Sheffield United or Sunderland – along with Leeds United and Burnley – are likely to be better off than this season’s relegated sides, with 70 more Premier League games to be televised per season for the next four years as part of the aforementioned deal.