Wolves to make millions after Leeds United promotion to Premier League - finance expert explains
Wolves are set to earn a tidy sum after Leeds United and Burnley clinched promotion to the Premier League.
Next season’s Premier League line up is taking shape with 18 of the 20 teams now confirmed.
With just a few matches to go in both the top tier and the Championship, relegations and promotions have already been locked in. Southampton, rock bottom of the table all campaign long, became the first team in Premier League history to be relegated with as many as seven games to go. Leicester City then followed suit as the recent 1-0 defeat to Liverpool sealed their fate.
Ipswich Town are all but confirmed to be going down, too. To stay up, the Tractor Boys would need to win all five of their remaining matches and overturn a 20-goal difference swing to 17th-placed West Ham United.
Two of the three teams rising up from the Championship were confirmed on Easter Monday as Leeds United and Burnley won their games to move eight points clear of third-placed Sheffield United with two games to go. Leeds pummelled Stoke City 6-0 at Elland Road to seal promotion in style, while Burnley vitally saw off Sheffield United in a tense 2-1 win at Turf Moor.
The third will be decided via the play-offs, with the Blades and Sunderland already qualified. Bristol City and Coventry City look the two likeliest to clinch the final spots, though Middlesbrough, Millwall and Blackburn Rovers are still in with a slim chance.
Wolves set for cash influx after Leeds and Burnley promotions
Both Leeds and Burnley have received parachute payments from the Premier League since their relegations in 2023 and 2024 and would have been due them for 2025/26 had they not gone up.
According to Kieran Maguire, a football finance expert, Leeds and Burnley would have been in line for a combined £51 million this summer. That money won’t just disappear into oblivion, as that pot of cash will instead be divided equally between the current top-flight teams, meaning Wolves will land a tidy £2.55 million.
It might not sound like much but every million matters when the Old Gold are treading a fine line with the Premier League’s profit and sustainability regulations (PSR). The likely sale of Matheus Cunha this summer for his release clause fee of £62.5 million will be a huge help, but an extra few million wouldn’t go amiss.
Explaining the process via his X (formerly Twitter) page, Maguire wrote: “When Leicester & Southampton were relegated in 2022/23 and promoted the following season £102m in parachute payments were saved...these savings have been split between Premier League clubs. Should Burnley and Leeds be promoted today, then a further £51m will be saved...this will also be divided between PL clubs.