How much prize money each South East club won last season
A look at how much Reading FC, Southampton FC, Brighton & Hove Albion, Portsmouth FC, Bournemouth FC, MK Dons all financially gained from their final league positions last season.
The final games of the 2021/22 season have been played and the finance departments of all football clubs are busy calculating the boons picked up - or the losses suffered - as a result of their performances throughout the campaign just gone.
The season was a mixed bag for clubs from the South-East across the Premier League and the EFL divisions, with some continuing on a path to top tier success and reaping strong financial rewards whilst others barely survived relegation and find themselves in some measure of turmoil.
We took a look at how teams from the area fared - and the financial implications of their ultimate league position.
Premier League
On top of the ‘equal share’ payment clubs in the Premier League receive after a full season, income also arrives in the form of ‘facility fees’ which reflect how often the team had their games televised in the preceding season. They then have their own commercial revenue to take into consideration.
With this in mind, under the guidance of Austrian manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, Southampton FC finished in 15th position in the Premier League and survive to play another season in the top flight. As a result, their ‘equal share’ of around £79m will combine with their facility fee of an estimated £11.3m. Their commercial revenue is thought to be £15.9m and when combined with their commercial revenue, the best estimation is that Southampton finish the 2021/22 season with a total of £111.8m.
After a fantastic season under Graham Potter, Brighton & Hove Albion FC finished ninth in the Premier League - their first ever top half finish in the top flight. Potter himself has spoken of the importance of finishing as high as possible - with the difference between consecutive positions equalling around £2m in prize money per placement.
On top of their equal share of £79m, Brighton’s games were televised more frequently than The Saints and that sees them pull in facility fees of around £14.1m. With a merit payment of £31.8m and commercial revenue totalling an estimated £5.6m, it’s thought that The Seagulls generated an impressive £130.5m in revenue in 2021/22.
EFL Championship & EFL League 1
One rung below the Premier League, in the EFL Championship, the model is markedly different. In essence, clubs do not receive payments based on where they finish in each respective division, so their income won’t be reflective of their ultimate finishing position. Payments in the lower leagues are comprised of the ‘basic award’ and ‘solidarity payments’.
A ‘basic award’ - thought to be £2.3m - is paid to Championship clubs as a flat fee, and staggered throughout the season. There are ‘parachute payments’ in place to help those who have been relegated, receiving a percentage sum of overall TV income, dropping incrementally over the course of three years. No clubs from the South East were relegated after the season just gone, so none will be in receipt of those payments.
For those lucky enough to have escaped relegation, such as Reading FC who barely survived after serious financial issues - a ‘solidarity payment’ is received which is a smaller percentage of a final parachute payment - and is thought to be in the region of £4.5m in the Championship.
Distributions for these payments are equal for each clubs in a division - eg League Two clubs are paid a different amount than League One clubs - but within each non-Premier League division, the system is intended to put in place a fair financial reward system for those outside of the top flight.
On a more positive note, having finished second and earned automatic promotion, Bournemouth AFC are in a fantastic position financially. It’s not officially disclosed how much promotion to the Premier League is compensated by, but the figure of £200m isn’t unrealistic. When you consider the quality of personnel required to compete amongst the likes of Manchester City and Liverpool, that money proves essential for those who have been promoted.
EFL League 1
Looking lower down at EFL League 1, unless promoted or relegated, teams are paid a ‘basic award’ and a ‘solidarity reward’, as with the Championship - but with the sums being considerably lesser. So for the likes of Portsmouth and Oxford United, who finished 10th and 8th in League 1 respectively, the incoming funds will be the same.
The same is true for MK Dons who finished third but lost out in the playoff final 2-1 on aggregate to Wycombe. Sadly, for the Dons, the big payday didn’t arrive. Still - there’s always next season.
