How much Championship promotion is worth to play-off chasers QPR, Millwall and Watford

When the Championship returns from the international break the business end of the season will begin with QPR, Millwall and Watford still with plenty to play for despite finding themselves in some sort of mid-table obscurity.

All sides in the league have six fixtures left to play with a total of 18 points to be won, meaning plenty can still change in a tightly-packed Championship table. Watford perhaps look the most likely of our three local clubs to close the gap on the top six, currently five points off West Brom.

At one stage, following a run of just one defeat in 13 over the festive period and New Year, the R’s had been touted as gatecrashers to the play-off party but a dismal run of four straight losses recently has slashed those chances. QPR sit 15th, seven points above the drop zone, and 12 points off the play-offs.

Millwall six points off Championship play-offs

Millwall are six points above QPR in 11th and just six points off the top six thanks to the stability brought by Alex Neil. It would be a seismic task and depend on rivals’ results, but stranger things have happened than the closing of that gap.

Getting out of the Championship and into the Premier League is of course incentive enough for the players, who want to be at the top level, but looking at the finances behind it all provides extra incentive - if not for a late play-off push, to set sights on a top six finish next season.

How much promotion to the Premier League is worth for Championship clubs

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.

Even before achieving promotion, clubs finishing in the play-off zones have the chance to bank more money. Each outfit receives a 12.5% cut of the gate receipts from the semi-final matches with the two clubs making it to the final banking 25% of the Wembley Stadium ticketing revenue. That makes a play-off spot marginally more lucrative than a top two placement.

The money would really start to roll in for QPR, Millwall and Watford once they reach the Premier League. EFL Analysis reports that annual revenue for a football club can increase by around 400% after moving from the Championship to the Premier League.

That £11 million figure can rise by more than £100 million. 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 boss Alex Neil has issued an injury update ahead of the international break.