Merit payments bonus payout set for Newcastle United | OneFootball

Newcastle United are in line to benefit from a merit payments bonus.

Merit payments are ordered from 1-20 in the Premier League table.

They come from the domestic and international broadcast revenue pot.

The bottom club effectively gets one share, with each club getting one more with each place.

Last (2023/24) season saw each share worth £2.82m each place.

With this current 2024/25 Premier League season working with the same domestic TV deal, the £2.82m per place will be very similar this season.

The Athletic have done a report on the Premier League merit payments for this season and point out:

‘The money is not to be scoffed at.

The FA Cup offers romance, but for context, the most this season’s final four of Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City can add to the prize money they have already won in the competition is a further £2.5m.’

These were the 2023/24 season Premier League merit payments:

Newcastle United received £39.4m in Premier League merit payments last season for finishing seventh.

If defeating Ipswich today, Newcastle would go third in the table, then if they stayed there until the end of the season they would received £50.7m (based on last season’s payouts. A total of £11.3m more.

In these days of so much money generated by Premier League clubs, especially when it comes to the usual half dozen suspects and how big the financial chasm is between those six and the likes of Newcastle United, it is easy/lazy to think £10m here and there doesn’t make much difference.

The truth is though, that it all adds up (or subtracts…).

Newcastle United need to keep increasing their revenues via their on the pitch efforts, as well the off the pitch commercial ones. It all adds up and is often intrinsically linked. For example, the more successful United are on the pitch, the higher the future sponsorship revenues will be. Indeed, it is all but certain that amongst the current commercial deals, there will be at least some of them that will see bonuses paid if Newcastle qualify for the Champions League.

Getting back purely to the merit payments though.

If you take say Newcastle United and Manchester United.

If Newcastle finish third, they would increase their merit payment by £11.3m (£39.4m rising to £50.7m) compared to last season.

If Man U finish seventeenth (which is very possible), their merit payment would decrease by £25.4m (£36.7m falling to £11.3m) compared to last season.

Just on merit payments alone, Newcastle United would have gained £36.7m on Man U’s revenues compared to last season.

This is how Newcastle United close the financial chasm on the usual suspects, season by season, every area of revenue important.

If Newcastle United finish third, that would see them qualify for Champions League football AND cash as well. With at least some of those six usual suspects missing out (praying that neither Spurs nor Man U fluke it by winning the Europa League).

With Newcastle United also one of the Premier League clubs most chosen for live UK broadcasts that separate pot of money will also see NUFC benefit financially more than most other PL clubs.

Step by step we will get there, whereby Newcastle United can compete on and off the pitch with any other club.

Some steps are of course bigger than others and regular Champions League football is essential towards this, plus of course the far bigger capacity stadium that the fans and the club need ASAP.