Premier League prize money: How much can Sunderland earn per place as they chase Europe?
How much can Sunderland win per Premier League position as they chase down European qualification?
Sunderland suffered a heartbreaking 4-3 defeat to Aston Villa at the weekend, but they very much remain in the hunt for European football.
As it stands, seventh in the Premier League will be enough to earn a UEFA Conference League spot for next season, while sixth will grant access to the Europa League. The Black Cats trail those places by just two and four points, respectively, with a game in hand. What’s more, if Villa win the Europa League and remain in the top five, sixth will be a Champions League spot, offering many teams, Sunderland included, a unique and mouth-watering opportunity.
But it’s not just about qualifying for Europe. Sunderland can also spend the rest of this season trying to finish as high as possible to maximise the amount of prize money they can earn. So, just how much is each Premier League place worth?
How much is each Premier League place worth in prize money?
Here is the Premier League prize money distribution per position based on the current standings. Note that this only shows ‘merit’ payments from the UK and international combined, and doesn’t include things like commercial revenue or equal share payments.
- Arsenal – £53.1m
- Manchester City – £50.4m
- Manchester United – £47.7m
- Aston Villa – £45.0m
- Liverpool – £42.4m
- Brighton – £39.8m
- Chelsea – £37.1m
- Brentford – £34.5m
- Bournemouth – £31.9m
- Everton – £29.1m
- Sunderland – £26.5m
- Fulham – £23.8m
- Crystal Palace – £21.2m
- Newcastle United – £18.6m
- Leeds United – £15.9m
- Nottingham Forest – £13.3m
- West Ham United – £10.7m
- Tottenham Hotspur – £7.9m
- Burnley – £5.3m
- Wolverhampton Wanderers – £2.6m
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Each Premier League place you climb will increase your prize money by an average of £2.66m. Right now, Sunderland are set to land £26.5m if they remain in 11th place, which is about what they spent on Nordi Mukiele (£12m), Robin Roefs (£11.5m) and Bertrand Traore (£2.5m), with change to spare. However, as mentioned, sixth is still well within reach, and if the Black Cats climbed that high, they’d net an extra £13.3m to pull in a total of £39.8m - that extra prize money enough to cover the fee paid for Mukiele with £1.3m leftover.
Of course, there is also the chance that Sunderland could slump at the final hurdle, with rivals Newcastle only four points adrift all the way down in 14th. If Regis Le Bris’ men were to finish that low - which would feel like a real injustice at this point - they’d lose £7.9m from what they’re currently set to earn, picking up just £18.6m. Arsenal currently lead the Premier League table, with first landing you £53.1m, while at the other end of the spectrum, bottom side Wolves are set to bring in just £2.6m.