What Arsenal earn for winning Premier League compared to Coventry City's Championship title | OneFootball

FLW looks at the difference in prize money for winning the Premier League compared to the Championship

Arsenal and Coventry City ended their 20+ year wait for divisional glory this season by winning their respective league titles.

The Gunners are once again Premier League champions for the first time since the 2003/04 campaign, while the Sky Blues have reached the top flight for the first time since 2000/01.

Both have had to act as the bridesmaid for the past few years, too, with Arsenal finishing as runners-up for three consecutive seasons before this, and Coventry fans have seen play-off heartache in two of the last three years, with an equally harrowing FA Cup semi-final defeat causing them to fall just short of the top six sandwiched in between.

So, both sets of fans have bided their time and very much deserve the celebrations they, in Coventry's case, have already had, or in Arsenal's, are about to have.

They'll also likely receive some extra prize money, too, but how big a difference between the two divisions does the money range for the two title-winning sides?

How much Arsenal and Coventry City will receive for winning their respective league titles

When stripping back TV deals, international revenue and commercial payments that make Premier League sides earn so much more than those in the second-tier, Arsenal will make around £42 million more in basic prize money for their league position than Coventry.

The Sky Blues are reportedly set to bank an estimated £11 million for finishing first in the Championship.

Meanwhile, it was reported last year that Premier League champions Liverpool earned £53.1 million in basic merit payments for finishing atop the pile in the top-flight. It's expected that Arsenal will see a similar amount awarded to them.

However, while winning the Premier League does result in a larger cheque, it's not by much in the whole grand scheme of things when compared to how much a team earns for finishing second, for example.

Each place in the top fight last season was worth approximately £2.6 million, and Liverpool themselves only earned £3.4 million more than Arsenal, who finished second, when taking into account the overall prize money.

Coventry City's main prize this season is Premier League revenue, rather than a Championship title

It's not a surprise, though, that it's the commercial revenue that makes promotion to the Premier League worthwhile.

Championship clubs are reportedly only given £11 million for being in the second tier. It's unclear whether the £11 million Coventry are set to get to win the Championship is just that base prize money, or if it will be added on, but when compared to even the worst top-flight sides, it's a fraction.

Southampton finished bottom of the Premier League on 12 points in the 2024/25 campaign, yet the Saints earned £109.2 million, an insane jump from finishing first in the Championship without parachute payments, which Coventry have done.

Back to Liverpool last season, and the top-flight champions banked an eye-watering £174.9 million when adding the final prize money to the commercial and TV revenue that Premier League clubs receive.

So, while Arsenal's sole positional prize money sees them earn £42 million more than Coventry, in reality, it'll be well over £100 million when taking into account all the other payments on top.

The Sky Blues will be in line to more than double their prize money next season, just by being in the Premier League, and, arguably, that influx of cash is more of a cause for celebration than the title win actually is.