The £37m Premier League financial boost Sunderland will target over the next two months

Sunderland could land a major financial boost based on their final position in this season’s Premier League.

Sunderland will hope to secure a top half finish in the Premier League during their first season back in the top flight of English football - and the Black Cats are still in the mix for a place in European competition.

As it stood ahead of Tuesday night’s visit to Leeds United, Regis Le Bris’ side were sitting in twelfth place in the table - but they were just two points adrift of the top ten and six points behind seventh placed Brentford. Although it seems like a long shot as the Black Cats struggle to find consistency, breaking into the top seven should be enough to secure European football for only the second time in the club’s history.

However, a push up the Premier League table would bring a major financial boost for Sunderland as they look to firmly establish themselves in the top tier for years to come. Although each Premier League club will receive an ‘equal share’ payment, further income will be secured based on your final position at the end of the season. Based on last season’s ‘merit payments’, champions Liverpool received an addition £32.3m and that payment decreases as you make your way down the division with bottom of the table Southampton receiving just £1.6m.

So how much could Sunderland receive this season? As it stands, there has been no formal announcement over how much each club will receive - but based on last season we can make an estimate on what could be handed to the Black Cats.

Premier League merit payments based on the 2024/25 season

Brian Brobbey of Sunderland.placeholder image
Brian Brobbey of Sunderland. | Getty Images.

1st (Arsenal) – £53.1m 2nd (Manchester City) – £50.4m 3rd (Manchester United) – £47.7m 4th (Aston Villa) – £45m 5th (Liverpool) – £42.4m 6th (Chelsea) – £39.8m 7th (Brentford) – £37.1m 8th (Everton) – £34.5m 9th (Fulham) – £31.9m 10th (Bournemouth) – £29.1m 11th (Brighton) – £26.5m 12th (Sunderland) – £23.8m 13th (Newcastle) – £21.2m 14th (Crystal Palace) – £18.6m 15th (Leeds) – £15.9m 16th (Spurs) – £13.3m 17th (Nottingham Forest) – £10.7m 18th (West Ham) – £7.9m 19th (Burnley) – £5.2m 20th (Wolves) – £2.7m

How much will each Premier League club make in broadcasting fees this season?

Sky Sports are one of the domestic broadcasters in the Premier League.placeholder image
Sky Sports are one of the domestic broadcasters in the Premier League. | Getty Images

A new broadcasting agreement will see 267 Premier League fixtures broadcast live by the time the 2025/26 season comes to a close in May. Sky Sports and TNT Sports are the domestic broadcasters and they pay a facility fee to the home club of each game they select for live broadcast and although the figure can change, it tends to bring an average payment of around £830,000. The latest round of fixtures selected for live broadcast will come to an end on March 22 and we can see just how much each club has made so far this season.

1st: Manchester United (26 games) – worth around £21.8m in 2024/25 2nd: Newcastle and Spurs (25 games) – worth around £20.9m 4th: Arsenal, Aston Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Nottingham Forest (24 games) – worth around £20.2m 10th: Leeds (21 games) – worth around £17.8m 11th: Brentford and Everton (20 games) – worth around £17m 13th: West Ham (19 games) – worth around £16.2m 14th: Crystal Palace and Fulham (18 games) – worth £15.4m 16th: Bournemouth and Sunderland (17 games) – worth around £14.6m 18th: Wolves (16 games) – worth around £13.7m 19th: Brighton (15 games) – worth around £12.9m 20th: Burnley (11 games) – worth around £9.7m

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