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Why the Championship play-off final offers potential £290m prize

Huddersfield Town's Chris Lowe celebrates scoring from the penalty spot during the Sky Bet Championship play-off final at Wembley Stadium, London.

Find out why Huddersfield are set for a £290m windfall after their Championship play-off final victory.

On Monday, Huddersfield saw off Reading 4-3 on penalties following a 0-0 draw to earn promotion from the Sky Bet Championship at Wembley.

Promotion to the Premier League will see an uplift in revenue of at least £170m, rising to more than £290m if they survive their first season in the Premier League.

Huddersfield, along with already-promoted Brighton and Hove Albion, can expect a revenue increase of at least £170m across the next three seasons.

This is a combination of extra revenue they will earn from playing in the Premier League in 2017/18 (at least an extra £95m, mostly from central distributions) and parachute payments in 2018/19 and 2019/20 should they be relegated after one season (totalling an estimated £75m across two seasons).

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 29:  Nahki Wells of Huddersfield Town celebrates promotion to the Premier League as his team win the penalty shoot out after the Sky
Image: Huddersfield players celebrate the penalty shoot-out victory

Huddersfield and Brighton, could see this figure rise to at least £290m if either club survives its first season in the Premier League.

Over the past 10 seasons to 2016/17, 18 (60 per cent) of the 30 promoted clubs have avoided relegation in their first season in the Premier League.

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Jones added: "The financial prize for Huddersfield and Brighton becomes at least £290m if the promoted club survives the first season in the Premier League.

Finishing positions of clubs in first Premier League season

Season Winner Runner-up Play-offs
2006/07 Sunderland (15) Birmingham (19) Derby (20)
2007/08 West Brom (20) Stoke City(12) Hull City (17)
2008/09 Wolves (15) Birmingham (9) Burnley (18)
2009/10 Newcastle (12) West Brom (11) Blackpool (19)
2010/11 QPR (17) Norwich (12) Swansea (11)
2011/12 Reading (19) Southampton (14) West Ham (10)
2012/13 Cardiff (20) Hull (16) Crystal Palace (11)
2013/14 Leicester (14) Burnley (19) QPR (20)
2014/15 Bournemouth (16) Watford (13) Norwich (19)
2015/16 Burnley (16) Middlesbrough (19) Hull (18)

"Burnley successfully stayed up this year, and a sustained period of Premier League participation could provide any newly-promoted club with the platform to enter the top 30 of the Deloitte Football Money League."

Newcastle United, who were in receipt of parachute payments in 2016/17, will benefit from a minimum uplift in central distributions of £60m in 2017/18.

The higher up the Premier League the club finishes in 2017/18, the higher their revenue will be (£2m per finishing position). Even if Newcastle are relegated at the end of their first season, the minimum uplift in revenue over the next three seasons will be £120m.

Dan Jones, partner and head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, concludes: "The current broadcast rights arrangements provide Premier League clubs with the financial resources to make strategic investments both on and off the pitch.

"Whilst this typically includes some increased expenditure on playing talent in the short term, it is important that promoted clubs are committed to long-term financial responsibility.

"Recent history has shown that parachute payments are no guarantee of promotion back to the Premier League if relegation does occur."

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