Charlton Athletic huge prize money confirmed after League One play-off win

Charlton Athletic will return to the Championship for the first time since 2020 after winning the League One play-off final against Leyton Orient at Wembley Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

Nathan Jones orchestrated another organised performance from his Addicks side, who claimed a 1-0 win at the home of football. It means that the Welshman has taken the club back up to the second tier after just a year-and-a-half in the position.

This time last year, Charlton Athletic finished the campaign in 16th place with 53 points, but had placed fourth with 85 points on the board at the end of the 2024/25 season to book a place in the play-offs. Wycombe Wanderers were seen off over two legs before the London derby at Wembley Stadium, which finished in a deserved Addicks win.

Speaking after the match, Jones said: "This isn't relief, it's euphoria. We've had to battle, we didn't play well today, we just defended really, really well but those are the principles we instilled and to win a game here, keep a clean sheet, I'm so happy.

"This is a good Leyton Orient side and they've hardly had a chance on goal and that's down to us. I'm so proud of this club, I took a risk dropping two divisions but I knew we could build something and this is the first step."

Promotion to the Championship comes with new opponents next term, Charlton Athletic making the rise alongside Birmingham City and Wrexham. It also comes with a big financial boost for the football club which, in turn, is likely to lead to greater investment in players come the summer transfer window. LondonWorld explains how the play-off prize money and imminent cash injection works.

League One play-off final prize money

The winner of the League One play-off final does not receive any prize money for tasting victory at Wembley Stadium. That is the same for the Championship, won by Sunderland, and for League Two, either AFC Wimbledon or Walsall.

Both Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient will have felt a small financial boost for making it to Wembley Stadium. The two clubs share a portion of the gate money. The Sun estimated that Sunderland and Sheffield United bagged £2 million of gate money on Saturday, with League One clubs likely expecting something similar.

While there is no set prize money, a play-off final win does come with guaranteed winnings as a result of achieving promotion to the league above.

Charlton Athletic set for Championship financial boost

Charlton Athletic are set to take home around £9 million more in Championship earnings next season than they would have with another season in League One. The BBC reports that second tier clubs received around £11 million during the 2024/25 season compared to the £2 million handed out to League One sides.

That £11 million sent to Championship sides is made up of a ‘basic award’ and solidarity payments from the Premier League. Even if the Addicks were to be relegated again in 12 months time, that would come with a parachute payment to soften the blow. Teams relegated from the Championship received 11.1% of the basic award payment sent to clubs - that cash injection is partly what helped Birmingham City enjoy a record breaking summer transfer window ahead of their League One campaign.

In other news, Arsenal and Tottenham lose millions as Sunderland promoted to Premier League.