Football League clubs' revenue

The significant impact of changing club mix, augmented by revenue diversification from consistent clubs, has resulted in an evolving outlook.

The profile of clubs in the Championship changed significantly in 2023/24, with three of the country’s traditionally larger clubs relegated-in from the Premier League (Leeds United, Leicester City, Southampton), and two promoted-in from League One (Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich Town). 

These clubs helped drive record Championship attendances, which resulted in matchday revenues increasing to a new high of £210m. The scale and followership boasted by the clubs entering the Championship was also a contributing factor to the 52% aggregate growth of Championship clubs’ commercial revenue in 2023/24, to £303m (2022/23: £199m). 

Championship clubs’ aggregate revenue for 2023/24 was £958m (2022/23: £752m). In addition to the revenue impact of changing club mix, this increase was also driven by a 6% increase in matchday revenue among the Championship's 18 consistent clubs, mirroring their 6% uplift in attendance. 

Broadcast revenue remained a crucial component of Championship clubs’ finances, amounting to £446m in 2023/24 (2022/23: £397m). 

League One clubs’ average revenue of £9.1m for 2023/24 was down by 7%. The departure of Ipswich Town and Sheffield Wednesday from the league through promotion impacted this decrease, having been the highest and third highest revenue-generating clubs in League One in 2022/23, respectively. 

Conversely, League Two clubs’ average revenue grew by 22% to £6.6m. Wrexham (£27m) made up 17% of aggregate League Two revenues having generated revenue which more closely resembles that of a consistent Championship club (2023/24 average: £31m). 

Football League clubs’ losses 

For the second consecutive season, all Championship clubs generated operating losses.

After some overall improvement for the last three years, Championship clubs’ operating losses worsened by 25% to £411m.

Whilst delivering a slightly improved wages/revenue ratio, Championship clubs’ other costs were significantly higher in 2023/24 (compared to 2022/23), in part driven by club mix. 

Pre-tax losses for Championship clubs were stable at £318m (2022/23: £313m), as costs of player amortisation (£271m) and finance costs (£77m) were more than offset by profit from transfers-out of players (£419m).

League One clubs’ pre-tax losses worsened to an average of £5.2m (2022/23: £5.0m), while League Two clubs’ pre-tax losses averaged £2.3m per club (2022/23: £1.5m). 

Championship clubs’ net debt grew by £83m (5%) to £1.5 billion by the end of the 2023/24 season. This movement was partly driven by changing club mix. Despite four of the six clubs promoted/relegated into the Championship improving their net debt position during the season, net debt across these clubs was £162m higher than across the six clubs which exited the Championship at the end of 2022/23.

12 Championship clubs received equity injections from owners totalling £554m in 2023/24. Three clubs (Birmingham City, Leeds United and Middlesborough) made up 70% of this total, highlighting the willingness of some owners to fund clubs’ operations and player spending.  

As part of changes to help promote a longer-term outlook and financial sustainability, the EFL’s amendments to Salary Cost Management Protocol (SCMP) rules for League One and League Two clubs from 2025/26 now curbs owners’ ability to fund player-related expenditure through equity injections. The introduction of these regulations may encourage EFL owners to consider longer-term investment strategies as rapid movement through the league ranks may become more difficult to achieve.