How much is promotion to the Premier League worth? The prize Sheffield United are playing for and Leeds United will bank
The question around every Championship play-off final is how much money is riding on it; the truth is no one knows exactly.
Many numbers have to be crunched through complicated formulae, and the answer for Sunderland will be bigger than Sheffield United, with champions Leeds United's payday probably somewhere inbetween.
Safe to say all are looking at being in the region of £200m richer.
Because when you are promoted to the world's richest domestic football league, you join the payroll for more than just a season.
The 2024-25 campaign was the first since 2019 Norwich City had not been on it, despite only two years of top-flight football in that time.
The Blades stank the Premier League out in 2023-24, yet still banked £109.7m, compared to £175.9m for champions Manchester City.
Around £95m was an equal shared of television money. Central commercial revenue came to £8.2m each, plus there is money for every place in the table, and how often you appear on TV.
Sheffield United were shown live on domestic TV 13 times in 2023-24, but Leeds were chosen 19 times the previous campaign.
For the next four seasons there will be 70 more games shown on Sky Sports and TNT Sports, bringing in an extra £420,000 per club on average.
Legal battles, such as with their own clubs over issues like financial fair play, take money out of the pot, but clubs like the Blades winning promotion before their full quota of parachute payments top it up.
So last season each place in the table was worth £2.8m, the season before £3.1m.
But the taps are not turned off if a team is relegated, thanks to parachute payments introduced in 2015 to avoid the sort of financial meltdowns Leeds and Bradford City suffered early in the millennium.
Relegated clubs receive 55 per cent of the money doled out the next season, which for Sheffield United should be around £49m.
The figure drops to 45 per cent in year two, then 20 per cent in year three – but only clubs who manage to stay in the Premier League for more than a year get a third helping.
Out of the Premier League since 2017, Sunderland do not get parachute payments, just £5m solidarity payments.
Championship clubs earn around £4-6m annually from TV, plus £0.5m to £1.5m per match shown.
Saturday's finalists will get a share of £2m Wembley gate receipts.
Promotion/relegation clauses mean each Blades player's pay is likely to go up if they win the final or down if they spend a second season in the Championship.
But the money may not touch the sides if they are to compete. Ipswich Town spent £106m net on transfers last summer and still got relegated.