Success on the field equals success off the field in soccer and Wrexham are set to benefit following promotion.
The English Football League has been enlivened by the arrival of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney to Wrexham, whose charisma and Hollywood status have undoubtedly added to the glamour of the competitions they compete in.
The club has ambitions of reaching – and even winning – the Premier League and recently took another step on that journey, securing promotion to the Championship, with The Red Dragons doing back-to-back-to-back promotions.
While the holy grail of the Premier League remains the chief aim, promotion to the Championship is nevertheless still rewarding, with financial benefits attached. Here, GOAL takes a look at how much Wrexham stand to earn after getting out of League One.
Getty Images SportEFL payments & TV money increase
In 2024-25, Championship clubs received around £11 million ($14.6m) each for participating in the league, and Wrexham will be one of the beneficiaries of a similar payment in 2025-26.
The payment is made up of a basic award plus a solidarity payment from the Premier League and is a number of times larger than that received by teams in League One (£2m) and League Two (£1.5m).
Of course, Wrexham will expect to see their costs rise in 2025-26 as they attempt to compete, but the EFL payment will go some way towards offsetting any increase.
AdvertisementShirt sales & retail boost
Reynolds and McElhenney have created a financial juggernaut in Wrexham that shows little sign of slowing down, as evidenced by the announcement of record turnover back in March. The club's turnover for the year was £26.725 million ($35.5m), an astonishing increase of 155 per cent on the previous year, when the turnover was £10.478m ($14m).
They can expect to generate more sales in the retail department now that they are in the Championship, having witnessed a jump of around £1m last year. Matchday revenue rose to £5m from just over £3m last term, and with a whole new cohort of teams to play in the new league, we can reasonably assume that there will be added intrigue for away fans as well as home supporters.
Getty Images SportMore lucrative games against bigger teams
In 2025-26, Wrexham will regularly play teams with a much bigger profile than those they came up against in League One.
For example, the Red Dragons will face off against the likes of Blackburn Rovers, Norwich City, Middlesbrough and fellow Welsh side Swansea City – a game that should have plenty of spice as a local rivalry. They will also lock horns with Leicester City (Premier League champions in 2016), Southampton and one-time UEFA Cup champions Ipswich Town, all of which were just relegated from the Premier League.
Each of those fixtures should attract sell-out crowds at the Racecourse Ground.
While Wrexham still enter the Carabao Cup at the first round in 2025-26, they will enter the FA Cup at the third round stage, where they will be in the hat with Premier League clubs – another potentially lucrative area.
Stronger commercial power
While the involvement of Reynolds and McElhenney (along with the documentary) have ensured a base-line attraction for sponsors, promotion to the Championship means games against bigger teams (who boast bigger fanbases) to come, greater TV exposure and so on. All of the above means that Wrexham's commercial power has grown considerably.
Last year, the club's commercial revenue jumped from £1.9m to just over £13m, and, while it is difficult to predict, further growth is anticipated. Thanks to promotion and the aforementioned factors, Wrexham now has a stronger hand to play in negotiations while also becoming more attractive to brands, particularly those in the United States.
Playing at a higher level – just one rung below the Premier League – means the club is also a more attractive destination for footballers, though this will also mean more spending on the wages and transfers department.
