‎Huge Promotion windfall awaiting Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town

Coventry City, Middlesbrough and Ipswich Town have set the pace in the Championship throughout most of the 2025/26 season, putting each of them firmly in contention for a return to the Premier League whether automatically or through the play-offs.

Frank Lampard’s Coventry recently had to wrestle back top spot after Middlesbrough briefly climbed above them, having been the frontrunners for much of the campaign. On a points-per-game basis, Ipswich remain right in the mix, while Hull City and Millwall continue to hover within touching distance.

Promotion, however, is far from guaranteed. What makes this season particularly intriguing is that several parachute-payment clubs are well off the pace. Leicester City, Southampton and Sheffield United all beneficiaries of top-flight revenue in recent years have struggled to mount sustained challenges.

In each of the past six seasons dating back to 2018/19, at least two promoted sides were receiving parachute payments. This term could break that pattern for the first time since Norwich City went up alongside Sheffield United and Aston Villa.

If two of Coventry, Middlesbrough and Ipswich secure automatic promotion, they would step into the vast financial ecosystem of the Premier League. Even if relegation followed in 2027, parachute payments would provide a considerable safety net.

So how much money is truly at stake?

The gulf between the Championship and the Premier League remains enormous. It explains why the second tier’s average wages-to-turnover ratio exceeds 100 per cent club owners are prepared to gamble heavily for a shot at the top flight. Ipswich already benefit from parachute payments, while Coventry and Middlesbrough have climbed into contention through strategic risk-taking.

The financial rewards of promotion come from three key streams: EFL prize money, Premier League broadcasting and central distributions, and expanded commercial revenues.

The Premier League’s domestic TV deal is worth £6.7 billion across three seasons, according to the BBC, with funds distributed through equal shares, facility fees and merit payments. Each of the 20 clubs is believed to receive roughly £95 million as a baseline share from domestic and international broadcasting alone.

When merit payments, commercial income and other central distributions are factored in, a newly promoted club can expect a minimum uplift of around £200 million. That figure can rise significantly depending on survival and league performance.

The stakes are similarly enormous in the play-offs. Often labelled the richest match in football, victory in the Championship play-off final at Wembley can reshape a club’s future overnight. While finishing top might bring silverware, it does not necessarily deliver greater financial gain than going up through the play-offs.

Before last season’s play-offs, Deloitte estimated that the winning club could see revenue increase by at least £170 million over the following three years potentially climbing to £290 million if Premier League status is retained beyond the first campaign.

Whether promotion is secured automatically or via Wembley, the financial transformation awaiting Coventry, Middlesbrough or Ipswich would be nothing short of seismic.