The £40m Match

Last updated : 20 May 2006 By Kevin Markey

LEEDS

2005-06/In Prem 2006-07 (*)

Tickets £10m/£18m

Merchandise £4m/£6m

All other comm income** £9.5m/£12m

Central pot & TV £1m/£36m***

Parachute £6.5m -

Total earnings £31m/£72m

VALUE OF PLAY-OFF WIN TO LEEDS: £41M

WATFORD

2005-06/In Prem 2006-07 (*)

Tickets £3.4m/£5m

Merchandise £850,000/£1.5m

All other comm income** £3.25m/£5m

Central pot & TV £1m/£36m***

Total earnings £8.5m/£47.5m

VALUE OF PLAY-OFF WIN TO WATFORD: £39M

* Worse-case scenario, finishing bottom, immediate relegation.

** All other commercial income including sponsorship, catering, perimeter advertising, etc.

*** Minimum £18m from PL in one season (from equal share of PL pot, facility fees for live games, and prizemoney), plus parachute payments of about £18m over two years, circa £9m in 2007-08, and about £9m in 2008-09.

If Leeds win, they will incur costs of £6.8m triggered by promotion: £5m to bondholders who leant money in the Ridsdale era, and £1.8m to Middlesbrough for Michael Ricketts. These are payable only if Leeds go up.

How other sports measure up

* £39m-£42m FOOTBALL: Winner of 2006 Championship play-off final

Value of extra income from a minimum of one season in the Premiership

* £21m BOXING: Evander Holyfield's prize for beating Mike Tyson in 1997

Holyfield earned a basic $33m, and his opponent Tyson $30m from the richest fight in boxing history

* £10m FOOTBALL: Qualifying for the Champions' League proper Value of income and additional prizemoney from the minimum of six group games

* £10m FOOTBALL: Qualifying for the football World Cup finals

Value of Fifa expenses and minimum prizemoney

*£2m AMERICAN FOOTBALL:

Super Bowl winners

Value of combined winners' cheques (Other revenue pooled and shared by all the NFL sides)

*£1.9m HORSE RACING: Dubai World Cup Winner's cheque from the single most valuable race from an overall purse of $6m (£3.2m)

*£1.2m TENNIS: Kim Clijster's win in the 2005 US Open

The Belgian received $2.2m, including a bonus for also winning the US Open Series, to collect the biggest single prize in the history of women's sport

*£1m GOLF: HSBC World Matchplay, Wentworth

Single biggest pay cheque in golf

*£265,000 ATHLETICS: Golden League Series

Potential bonus for an individual athlete winning their event at all six meetings

*£255,000 CYCLING: Winner's money for 2005 Tour de France Lance Armstrong's prize

Thanks To The Independent for the above information.