Kieran Maguire backs Oxford United to bring in £10m in Championship

The U’s will be playing in the second tier of English football for the first time in 25 years, following their play-off final victory against Bolton Wanderers back in May.

In the immediate aftermath of United’s Wembley triumph, chief executive Tim Williams predicted that promotion could be worth up to £10m for the club, a figure backed up by Kieran Maguire.

Maguire lectures at the University of Liverpool, and co-hosts The Price of Football podcast alongside comedian Kevin Day.

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He told this newspaper: “Oxford United’s squad on June 30, 2023, cost a grand total of £1.4m.

“They’ll be competing against Leeds United next season, who were relegated from the Premier League in May 2023 with a squad that cost £381.4m.

“That’s indicative of the intriguing and unique position that we see in the Championship, where you have clubs coming up from the third tier and you’ve got clubs that have had the benefit of parachute payments and the huge TV deal in the Premier League.

“Whilst Oxford will have to box clever, they will have one of the lowest costing squads in the Championship, but there are others like QPR, who equally have a low-cost squad.

“The budgets will be varied. You’ve got the three clubs that have just been relegated and other clubs that have been in the Championship for a few years.”

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— Liam Rice (@OxMailLiamRice) July 30, 2024

In the media mixed zone at Wembley, Williams said revenues will increase by between £8m and £10m this season.

Maguire supported that figure, while also highlighting the impact that TV money will make.

In May, a mammoth £935 million deal was struck between the Football League and Sky Sports, with more than 1,000 matches to be broadcast live every season from the 2024/25 campaign onwards.

“In the Premier League, you get around six-and-a-half times the amount of TV money that you would get in League One,” said Maguire.

“In League One, it’s probably around £1.4m or £1.5m, and in the Championship, you’re probably looking at £8m, or even a bit more depending on how popular you are with the TV companies.

“On top of that, because we’ve got the new TV deal kicking in with more live games on Sky from next season, teams should be able to negotiate a better front of shirt deal. Not huge, but still noticeably higher than what we’ve got in League One.

“I read Tim’s comments, and I agree you’re probably looking at the thick end of an extra £10m coming into the club, which is the good bit, but Sir Alan Sugar’s prune juice comment where the money goes straight in and straight out again also applies when you start to see the wage bills.”