The winner of this year’s men’s FA Cup will pocket £2.1m in prize money. A decent sum, perhaps, on the surface of it. That is until you compare it to the prize money on offer for finishing one position higher in the Premier League.
According to the Premier League website, in 2024-25 each position was worth £2.7m, so finishing 17th, one place above the drop, earned £10.8m – more than five times the amount for winning the FA Cup.
Not only this, but the financial impact of relegation is enormous. Broadcast money, plus matchday and commercial revenue all take hits.
And while the actual amount will vary on a club-by-club basis, football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes dropping out of the top flight in 2025-26 will cost clubs an average of £100m.
“The club that finished bottom of the Premier League two years ago, the last set of dates we have, got £111m,” Maguire told the Daily Mail in January.
“I think by the end of this season, we’ll be looking at somewhere in the region of £120m from the television companies alone.
“That will drop to around £45m in the Championship, so that is already about £75m [lost].”
Once you add the loss of matchday and commercial revenue, it means clubs are staring down the barrel of £100m+ losses.
So, when it comes to rotating players, is it really any wonder that managers are increasingly choosing to use domestic cup competitions as rotatory playgrounds?
While there is seemingly a lot to gain for fans, and you could argue the players, that gain isn’t nearly as appealing for many of those charged with steering the ships.