Alan Shearer, who scored the most goals in Premier League history, has made it clear that he loves the FA Cup.
In 2004, the legendary Newcastle United player said, “I would give anything for a winner’s medal in this competition. I really would.” “I’ve been fortunate to win a lot of individual awards but I’d swap the lot, even the championship medal I won at Blackburn.”
To be fair, Shearer’s pledge to the world’s oldest football game was made 20 years ago, when that kind of thing wasn’t cool. He told those who didn’t believe him, “People might think I’m stupid, but I’m not wrong.” “I’d rather win the cup than the league.” In any case, Shearer didn’t win any big awards at Newcastle.
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After 20 years, not many Premier League fans still rank their teams the same way Shearer did. But that doesn’t mean that making it further in the FA Cup doesn’t have any perks. A deep cup run is a huge moneymaker for the many clubs outside of the top flight that make up this historic tournament.
Take a look at the money that makes the cup work.
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What does the winner of the FA Cup in 2023–24 get paid?
The winners of the 143rd English domestic cup game get a cool £2 million just for making it to the final. According to the Football Association, the losers will get £1 million.
The jackpot has dropped a lot since the COVID-19 outbreak, but there have been no changes to the prize fund this year. Arsenal won the 2019–20 FA Cup and made £3.6 million by winning the big game at Wembley Stadium, which was empty. Chelsea won £1.8 million that spooky afternoon, which is almost the same amount that Manchester City won as winners last year.
In the first FA Cup, which was held in 1872 before the crossbar was created and the team that caught the out-of-bounds ball first got the throw-in, Wanderers won £20, which is less than £3,000 today.
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2023/24 Prize money for the FA Cup broken down by round
League One and Championship clubs don’t play in the league until the third round in January, but they could start qualifying on August 1. That night, Moneyfields, a team from the ninth-tier, beat Westbury United from the level above and won £1,125.
In each of the five rounds of qualifying for this season’s game, the club that lost gets some money for taking part. That being said, being open to everyone is not an option once the game starts. Losers don’t get paid again until the semi-finals.
Maidstone United, a sixth-tier Semi-Pro team, started in the competition as early as the second qualifying round. They won £126,375 by making it to the third round proper. The club’s most recent public financial report says that the FA Cup prize money this season alone makes up about 10% of United’s total revenue for the whole season.
Since West Ham United won from the second level in 1980, no team from England’s top flight has won the FA Cup. If things keep going the same way, a Premier League team that enters the game in the third round has a chance to win a total of £3.9 million if they lift the famous pot.
