Sunderland AFC: £200m claim issued amid Premier League promotion chase | OneFootball

The Black Cats have an outside chance of automatic promotion from the Championship

Football finance guru Kieran Maguire has spelled out what promotion to the Premier League could be worth for Sunderland AFC – with even just a year in the promised land securing up to £200million for the Black Cats.

Regis Le Bris’ side are outsiders for an automatic promotion spot in the Championship, but despite two defeats back-to-back, Sunderland look in a strong position to end the campaign with a play-off finish.

There is a reason the showdown at Wembley to decide who reaches the Premier League is referred to as a multi-million game, with victorious clubs securing themselves a massive windfall the following season.

Sunderland’s revenue could increase twenty-fold if Premier League promotion is achieved

Sunderland have impressed by keeping in touch with Leeds United, Sheffield United, and Burnley at the summit of the Championship – with all three of the Black Cats’ promotion rivals receiving some form of parachute payments.

Debate over the sustainability and fairness to the rest of the division has constantly surrounded parachute payments since their introduction in 2006, but there are some efforts made by the Premier League to bridge the gap.

Sides not currently eligible for parachute payments receive solidarity payments from the Premier League - this is viewed as compensation for any unfair advantage gained by recently relegated clubs via parachute payments.

All teams in the Championship receive a slice of the television deals agreed to showcase EFL football, which of course dwarfs in comparison to the revenue generated by broadcasting Premier League games.

Speaking about the expanded revenue streams in the Premier League, Maguire told the Sunderland Echo: “If we take a look at Sunderland's broadcast revenue, if we start off there, they're probably getting around about £8.5million to £9million from the EFL and the solidarity payments from the Premier League.

“So I think it will probably be in the region of £111million or £112 million. So that's good news for the club.

“And on top of that, you've got solidarity payments.

“Worst case scenario, if Sunderland go straight down, then it's probably a further £80million.

“That's £190million to begin with, in terms of the financial benefit.

"If we then look at the other sources of income, your commercial deal, front of shirt deal, which in the Championship, if Sunderland are getting £500k at the moment, that's good.

“You can add a zero to that and more. You're probably looking in the region of £7million to £8million for the front of shirt and then your third source of income is match day.

“You'll be able to charge more for games, but I don't think the club will go down the route of upping prices significantly for regular fans, but for the commercial and hospitality sector, you'll be able to charge premium prices.

“If you've got Liverpool, Manchester United, City, Arsenal, Chelsea coming to town because people want to be able to entertain their guests, and no disrespect, it's a lot easier to sell those tickets if it's clubs of that calibre, compared to Swansea at home on a Tuesday night.”

Premier League riches explains investment in January transfer window

Sunderland’s board will be fully aware of what promotion to the Premier League would do for the club coffers.

Eyebrows were raised when the Black Cats managed to tempt AS Roma midfielder Enzo Le Fee to the Championship, with Sunderland covering the Frenchman’s rather large wages whilst he’s on loan at the Stadium of Light.

The loan deal also contains an option for the deal to be made permanent, which reportedly might became an obligation if the Black Cats are to seal promotion.

Financing that deal would of course be made that much easier with the near-endless riches that Premier League football brings.

Sunderland also turned the loan signing of Wilson Isidor into a permanent one, paying Zenit St Petersburg a reported £5 million to keep the impressive striker on Tyneside.

By signing Isidor during the 2024/25 season, Sunderland have given themselves more flexibility when it comes to Profit & Sustainability (PSR) margins in the Premier League, if they go on to secure promotion this season.