How much a Championship play-off spot is worth financially to Millwall, Middlesbrough and West Brom

Millwall travel to Blackburn Rovers in Championship action this weekend as Alex Neil’s side look to close the gap between themselves and the play-off spaces.

Blackburn sit just one place and four points behind the Lions in 10th with the visitors just three points off the top six in a tightly-packed second tier table. Middlesbrough and West Brom sit between Millwall and the play-off spots and are on the same number of points as the London outfit.

It’s set up to be an enticing end to the Championship season with Neil’s side still to play two bottom half sides in Norwich City and Swansea City before the end of the campaign. All of Millwall, Boro and the Baggies will be eyeing up a late leapfrog into the top six.

That would, of course, give the teams chance at Premier League promotion via the play-offs. A spot in the play-off spots also comes with a financial reward.

Millwall, Middlesbrough and West Brom eye Championship play-off revenue

Even just making the top six will provide a small cash injection for Millwall, West Brom and Middlesbrough. The two semi-final legs, one home and one away, will come with broadcasting fees and gate revenue.

There’s no prize for winning the play-off final but it comes with another chance of taking home money thanks to gate receipts. GiveMeSport reports that there is a ‘traditional gentlemen’s agreement’ between participants in the final that sees the Wembley Stadium gate money shared out, with each club usually receiving around £2 million.

This sum can change from season-to-season depending on the agreement struck. The fixture between Huddersfield Town and Reading in 2017 is cited as one such example, when it was agreed that the losing side would receive £4 million.

That’s not too big of a loss for the winners, which was Huddersfield Town that season. The Championship play-off final is widely regarded as one of the sport’s most lucrative games given the huge financial boost that comes just by being a Premier League team.

Championship clubs can bank over £100 million in play-off final win

EFL Analysis reports that all Championship clubs receive around £5 million in solidarity money from the Premier League and that is topped up by the EFL central income to reach around £11 million - a higher figure than before thanks to the new television deal. That figure isn’t affected by promotion.

That £11 million figure can rise by more than £100 million when in the Premier League. In the 2022/23 season, the smallest amount any club earned from a TV deal was the £112 million collected by Leeds United. That season, the lowest total revenue of a club was the £141 million managed at AFC Bournemouth.

Even if that money comes in for just one season, relegation to the Championship after 12 months can be lucrative. Parachute payments are paid out over up to three years to relegated clubs and, while the exact figure is not known, in 2023 the BBC claimed it was around £33 million per club.

In other news, Millwall's top six hopes: Alex Neil issues 'tough' verdict, predicted table, key injury update.