West Brom’s cost of potential Championship relegation as Shilen Patel two-year takeover anniversary nears
Shilen Patel is approaching his second anniversary of his successful takeover of West Brom.
Indeed, on 28 February 2024, Patel and his Bilkul Football company purchased an 87.8 per cent shareholding stake in West Brom, ending the Guochuan Lai era at The Hawthorns.
The £60million takeover marked the beginning of what Albion fans hoped would be an exciting new era in the Baggies’ history, but it hasn’t quite gone to plan just yet.
After a ninth-placed finish in the Championship last season, West Brom are currently sitting 21st in the table, just two points above the relegation zone, and are on their second head coach of the campaign.
So, with relegation to League One a real and ever-growing possibility this season, just how much would a drop into the third tier hit Albion’s finances?
West Brom could lose eight-figure income stream if relegated
This 2025-26 season is the second year of the EFL and Sky Sports’ blockbuster five-year, approximately £935m domestic broadcast deal, which saw an agreement to broadcast over 1,000 matches annually across the EFL.
Money from that deal is spread to clubs across the three divisions, but the amount received differs significantly depending on your place in the EFL pyramid.
An April 2025 article from WalesOnline analysed how much money Championship clubs earn in broadcast revenue, basic awards and solidarity payments under the new deal, and came to ballpark figures for both divisions.
Starting with Championship clubs, they state that second tier sides earn between £3-£4m in TV revenue per season, on top of per-match fees that equate to between £500,000-£1.5m per term.
The EFL’s international TV rights deal also adds a bonus of between £1-£2m in revenue, whilst solidarity payments are also a big part of Championship sides’ revenue.
These payments are made from the Premier League to EFL clubs in an attempt to support the pyramid, and non-parachute payment sides, which West Brom are, receive around £5m per year from this agreement.
Once that’s all added up, Championship clubs from those three income streams alone, bring in somewhere between £9.5-£12.5m.
However, the aforementioned article reports that League One clubs only generate around £800,000-£900,000 from TV rights every year, with international TV rights only adding £300,000-£500,000 per year.
Per-match fees are said to generate around £200,000 for third tier sides, whilst solidarity payments estimated to bring in £780,000.
Therefore, League One clubs can expect to generate roughly £2m-2.4m per season, meaning West Brom could potentially lose a maximum of £10.5m just from these three income streams alone if relegated.
- Read more: Shilen Patel braced for another financial loss at West Brom as Eric Ramsay unveiled to media
Eric Ramsay has to get West Brom playing
So, if any West Brom fan wasn’t already aware, relegation from the Championship to League One would be a financial catastrophe for the club.
Those figures don’t factor in natural decreases to player transfer values after relegation, as well as possible reductions in tickets sold at The Hawthorns, sponsorships etc.
As such, it’s now crucial that Eric Ramsay finds a way to get his Baggies side playing, as he goes in search of his first win as Albion boss on Saturday against Coventry.
It’s going to take a big effort, but if successful, West Brom would save a huge amount of money.
For even more West Brom news and opinions, head over to Football Insider.