Football League Clubs

Football League clubs' revenue

Championship clubs’ revenue totalled £942m in 2024/25, down £16m (2%) on the prior season.

This marked the first season-on-season decline in aggregate revenue since the COVID pandemic, reversing the trend of two years of annual growth.

The six clubs promoted or relegated-into the Championship for 2024/25 reported just £5m more revenue than those promoted or relegated-out at the end of 2023/24, compared to a £207m differential in the prior season.

Parachute payments continued to have a marked impact on the financial profile of the Championship. The cessation of these for two clubs, Norwich City and Watford, resulted in season-on-season reductions exceeding £30m for both, compared to a £3m average improvement among the other 16 consistent clubs.

Despite the drop in parachute payment receipts down c.£35m to c.£185m, broadcast revenue was the only revenue stream that grew year-on-year, up 3% on 2023/24 at £461m. This uplift was driven by the launch of the EFL’s domestic broadcast agreement with Sky Sports, worth a reported £935m over the five-year period, as well as new international agreements with Pitch International and Relevent involving reported-record minimum guarantees.

Championship clubs’ matchday revenue remained relatively consistent, decreasing slightly (1%) to £208m in 2024/25, primarily due to the changing club mix. Average league match attendance reduced from a record high of 22,845 in 2023/24 to 21,783, but even so, the Championship remained among the top five best-attended leagues in Europe.

There was a 10% (£29m) reduction in commercial revenue in 2024/25, to £273m. The impact of changing club mix caused a £42m decline, somewhat mitigated by a £12m increase among consistent clubs.

Football League clubs’ losses 

Clubs’ losses worsened across each of the EFL’s three divisions.

Championship clubs’ operating losses increased 5% to £436m in 2024/25.  The impact of parachute payments on clubs’ financial results was again clear to see. Luton Town, in receipt of parachute payments for the first time in its history, was the only club to report an operating profit (£13m), meanwhile the two clubs which saw these payments cease reported the highest and third-highest growth in operating losses in the league (Norwich City: £26m increase; Watford: £21m increase). 

Championship clubs’ pre-tax losses rose 12% to £355m, with only two clubs reporting a pre-tax profit compared to four in 2023/24. Pre-tax losses were lower than operating losses because player amortisation costs (£235m) and finance costs (£58m) were exceeded by some exceptional credits (£7m) and profit from player trading (£366m).  

The threats of regulatory sanctions or even operational collapse therefore are not enough to discourage clubs from spending beyond their means. Instead, the lure of the Premier League and the threat of falling further away from it seems to be acting as a more powerful opposite force.

League One clubs’ pre-tax losses surged further to an average of £7.2m (2023/24: £5.3m), with the highest loss in the division (Birmingham City: £34m) significantly exceeding this. The scale of these average annual losses is now more than three times worse than the average across the five seasons to 2021/22 (£2.1m). League Two clubs’ average pre-tax losses of £2.2m improved slightly on the prior season (£2.3m) but still represent a significant shortfall to be funded each year.