Sunderland and Sheffield Wednesday receive near eight-figure cash boost from EFL and Sky Sports

Sunderland and their Championship rivals will receive a whopping seven-figure cash boost from the EFL this season - plus a hefty chunk of change from broadcaster Sky Sports.

Though the EFL can’t match the hefty prizemoney that the Premier League dishes out, clubs still benefit from competing in the United Kingdom’s second-best league. All clubs in the Championship are awarded “Solidarity Payments” and “Basic Award Payments” for competing in the division - and will scoop the same fee regardless of where they finish in the league.

The EFL’s Solidarity Payments to Championship clubs mean teams receive £5,190,000 plus the Basic Award Payment of £3,210,000. The two payments add up to a cool £8,400,000. Only clubs within the EFL who are not eligible for Parachute Payments from the Premier League receive Solidarity Payments meaning that some teams in the Championship like Leeds United Southampton and Leicester City will receive more than Sunderland.

The EFL states that the Solidarity Payments are calculated as a percentage of the third-year Parachute Payment amount a club relegated from the Premier League would receive, and therefore impacted by the value of the Premier League broadcasting rights. Sunderland have also pocketed a facility fee every time one of their matches has been selected for broadcast by the EFL’s partner Sky Sports, who pay £75,000 to both home and away teams for every fixture chosen for television.

Sunderland saw 10 home games at the Stadium of Light selected for television broadcast by Sky Sports this season with the clashes against Ipswich, Southampton, Watford, Middlesbrough, Birmingham City, West Brom, Leeds United, Preston North End, Hull City and Leicester City all shown.

Five of Sunderland’s away games this season against Sheffield Wednesday, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Leeds United and Leicester City were also chosen for television coverage. That leaves the Black Cats with a total of £1,125,000 from Sky Sports for their 15 games selected for broadcast this season.

That leaves Sunderland with a total pushing towards eight figures with £9,525,000 expected from the EFL and Sky Sports throughout the 2023-24 season in broadcast money plus the Solidarity Payment and Basic Award Payment. Cash from broadcasted games is processed and paid shortly after the fixture selected has taken place.