Promotion to the Championship from SkyBet League One is a significant achievement that is rewarded with exciting fixtures, the ability to buy better players, and a huge financial boost.
And with Lincoln City recently securing promotion to England’s second tier by amassing a whopping 93 points from 42 games so far this campaign, let’s take a look at how the step up will impact the club financially.
The Championship is the richest second tier in world football, generating around £1 billion annually.
Last season, all 24 clubs received around £11 million in central payments – a huge step up from the mere £2 million Lincoln have earned per year playing in League One.
If we take a look at some examples, the future looks very promising for the Imps with Birmingham City, Wrexham and Charlton Athletic all having the funds to spend big in the transfer market this campaign.
Even teams who have had significant financial woes recently have found themselves being massively helped by going up to the Championship, with a prime example being Derby County.
In 2021, the Rams entered administration, being hit with a 21 point deduction as they were subsequently relegated to England’s third tier.
David Clowes bought the club the following year and steered them back into the Championship in the 2024/25 season.
Upon which, they saw big money come through the door via revenue streams; earning up to £2 million on matchdays, £12 million from broadcasting (which increased by £9.1 million from the previous season), and having a commercial increase of £1.5 million.
Derby had losses of £14.2 million in the season they went up to the Championship, which went down to just £11.3 million when they returned to England’s second tier, while revenue increased to £31.9 million from £19.4 million.
On the other hand, last seasons champions, Birmingham, had losses of £34.6 million, despite making a record £35.8 million as a third division side.
In comparison, Lincoln unbelievably announced a very marginal loss of £2.9 million from their annual accounts last season, despite making just £8million – which is clearly significantly lower then the two sides previously mentioned who secured the financial boost of promotion.
Although, going up to the Championship doesn’t come without its costs, with clubs usually having to begin paying their players a whole lot more to meet the level required to compete in the division.
For example, of the £1 billion generated by the league, 125% of that amount (£1.2 billion) is spent on player wages alone.
The top spenders in England’s second tier this season are Leicester City, with the Foxes paying their players around £820,500 per week.
That means the former Premier League champions are currently contributing over £200,000 more then the second largest side (Sheffield United) and just under £400,000 more then Charlton Athletic who pay the least in the league.
For Lincoln, it’s more likely they will be paying closer to the Addicks wage bill rather then spending close towards the largest or even the average in the league, with the Imps currently spending just as little as £101,500 per week in League One.
Star players such as Jack Moylan and Tendayi Darikwa have already signed contract extensions this campaign, so City shouldn’t have to worry too much about giving their players a significant pay rise this summer, with the main increasing factor likely to be new additions.
Although, following the success of the current campaign, it’s unlikely Michael Skubala will demand a multitude of signings – and the team representing the county of Lincolnshire are expected to be financially secure next season.