Richest Game: What is It?
Alicia O'Keefe
2025-06-21 14:56:42
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The Championship play-off final is often dubbed "the richest game in football" - with good reason. For both Huddersfield and Nottingham Forest there's a staggering £170m up for grabs - and a spot in the Premier League - in Sunday's Championship play-off final. Where else can you bag close to £200m just for one match?
Alessia Greenholt
2025-06-12 14:26:38
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It is the most lucrative one-off fixture in the sporting world, with the financial windfall for the winning team a staggering £170 million ($215m) -- three times more than the combined value of winning the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup. So even if they finish bottom next season and are relegated, Villa or Derby will guarantee themselves at least £170m by winning at Wembley on Monday. To place that figure into context, winning the Premier League was worth £38m to City this season, with FA Cup prize money a mere £3.6m to the winners at Wembley, and the financial reward for winning the Champions League in Madrid next week will be worth a mere £16.7m to Liverpool or Tottenham.
Kattie Lubowitz
2025-06-11 18:56:32
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American Football
The financial strength of the NFL certainly gives American Football a strong case to be included as one of the richest sports around. According to the most recent list published by Forbes, just over half of the top 50 most valuable sports teams play in the NFL. The competition also currently has the most lucrative broadcasting deal, raking in around $4.5 billion per year from four US networks.
Soccer
The sport’s worldwide appeal has allowed many of its top stars to amass huge fortunes, with the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi amongst the highest paid athletes in the world. Competitions like the Champions League, Premier League, La Liga and Series A generate huge broadcast and sponsorship revenues, while many other major leagues are also awash with cash.
Basketball
Another sport that undoubtedly relies heavily on its popularity in North America for its status as one of the richest is basketball. Nine NBA franchises feature in the top 50 rich list, with three of those appearing in the top 10 – New York Knicks, Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors.
Baseball
Two Major League Baseball franchises feature in the top 10 rich list, while many of its players are amongst the highest earners in the world. Average annual player earnings in MLB are actually higher than all of the main soccer leagues, although the figures are perhaps skewed by the number of games played each season.
Eloisa Ankunding
2025-06-04 22:12:17
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The match has earned that tag because it is estimated to be worth £170m to £305m in additional revenue over three seasons to the winners, who gain promotion to the Premier League. This year, however, the baseline is lower, with Leeds and Southampton guaranteed a minimum uplift of £140m, according to Deloitte’s Sport Business Group. The value of winning the Championship play-off final comprises two elements: Premier League central distributions and parachute payments. All clubs in the Premier League receive a distribution of centrally generated revenues – mostly from broadcast contracts – which result in payouts ranging from around £160m for the winners to £100m for the team finishing last.
Jillian Keeling
2025-05-22 04:53:18
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The Championship final has long been billed as the richest game in world football. That figure, which has been calculated by Deloitte and is spread over three years, could rise to £280m if either Aston Villa or Fulham manage to survive one season after reaching the top flight. The financial rewards on offer in Kiev are dwarfed by those at stake in north London.
Veronica Koepp
2025-05-22 01:36:48
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Away from the glare and glitz of Europe’s most elite club competition, the Championship play-off final is arguably the most financially significant match in football, with a place in the Premier League at stake. A place in the Premier League brings a whole host of benefits. Each season Billions of pounds are distributed between the teams in England’s topflight. Winning the Championship play-off final and earning promotion to the Premier League is understood to be worth hundreds of millions of pounds, though this can vary season to season. A huge slice of the money comes from broadcasting revenue.
Ebba Kutch
2025-05-22 01:32:48
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It is not the money received directly from coming out on top in the game, it is actually the future benefits that the successful club will receive that make this the 'richest game in football'. They revealed promotion will mean an increase in revenue of at least £135million over the next three seasons for the triumphant club. A lot of that money will come from TV and commercial payments for playing in the English top flight.
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