After Derby County published their financial results for the 2023/24 season, many observers expressed surprise at the amount of money the Rams had lost while securing promotion from League One to the Championship. The bottom line of promoted clubs is adversely impacted by the payment of promotion bonuses, which can be quite substantial, so there is clearly a cost to be paid for teams that go up. As you would expect, the cost of promotion increases the higher the division, so in 2022/23 (the last season where all clubs have published accounts) the average pre-tax loss in the Championship was £27.9m, compared to £9.6m in League One and £1.4m in League Two. Championship to Premier League Five clubs have reached the Premier League in the last decade despite generating less than £20m: Luton Town (2022/23) £18m, Watford (2014/15) £18m, Huddersfield Town (2016/17) £16m, Brentford (2021/21) £15m and Bournemouth (2014/15) £13m. Parachute payments give clubs relegated from the Premier ...