Following on from my Capital One League Cup financial rewards article I thought I would explain the financial rewards of the FA Cup competition in comparison.
Unlike the League cup clubs earn money prize throughout the stages of the FA Cup.
Prize Fund
Third Round Proper winners: £67,500
Fourth Round Proper winners : £90,000
Fifth Round Proper winners : £180,000
Sixth Round Proper winners : £360,000
Semi-Final winners : £900,000
Semi-Final runners-up : £450,000
Final runners-up : £900,000
FA Cup Final winners : £1,800,000
The gate money for FA Cup ties is split 42.5% to each club, 10% to the FA Cup prize fund and 5% to the FA.
FA Cup TV & Radio Rights
ITV has 16 live matches including the final, where they have the first pick of every round. BT Sport has 25 live games including the final.
Below are the TV facility fees paid out to each club when their game is shown on TV Live, delayed feed or as TV highlights.
FA Cup Round Live TV Recorded TV Highlights
Third Round Proper £144,000 £72,000 £6,750
Fourth Round Proper £144,000 £72,000 £6,750
Fifth Round Proper £247,500 £123,750 £6,750
Sixth Round Proper £247,500 £123,750 £6,750
Radio Fees
Full Match (90 mins) £8,100
Half Match (45 mins) £4,050
Our entry into the third round proper is not until 4th January 2014 next year but looking at last season and our games against Manchester United this is what we approximately received in TV & shared gate income.
Under new FA rules the home club sets the price of the tickets whereas in the past the figure had to be agreed upon by both participating teams. In the case of a third-round tie, the minimum price set by the FA is £15.
The Boleyn home tie against Manchester United on 5th Jan 2013 achieved an attendance of 32,922 at £20 per ticket netting us around £279,987. As the game was also featured live on ITV we netted another £144,000 for LIVE TV plus the Highlights and Radio fees making a grand total around £438,837.
As we all remember that late Van Persie goal which broke our hearts and deprived us of another famous victory against Man United under the evening Boleyn lights but that draw was financially beneficial for the replay.
We played the replay on 16th Jan 2013 at Old Trafford in front of a crowd 71,081 priced at £45 per ticket. That one game netted us around £1.39m as the 42.5% percentage of the £3.19m gate. Again it was picked as the ITV Live game which bought it another £144,000 plus £14,850 in highlights and radio fees. So a total income around £1.55m for the night
So we disappointingly exited the FA cup at the third round proper but our combined income of around £2m over 2 games was financially worthwhile.
When you compare that West Ham stated in their 2006 financial accounts that our 2006 FA Cup run in which we were runners up generated a relatively modest £2.4m of income, net of bonus payments and other costs.
At the time the club said in its company accounts “When this figure is placed in the context of Premier League merit fees of £450,000 per league position it is perhaps clearer why, despite the tremendous excitement and sense of history generated by the club’s appearance in last May’s FA Cup Final, so many clubs now prioritise the league ahead of either cup competition”
The merit fees in the Premier League 2013/2014 season are set to be £1m per league position.
