Finance expert makes ‘parachute payment’ comparison on huge Wrexham advantage in quest to reach Premier League
03/28/2025 01:20 PM
Wrexham are financially stable enough to challenge the big hitters next season if they secure promotion to the Championship.
That's according to football finance expert, Kieran Maguire, who broke down the ambitious Welsh club's current financial standing.
The Red Dragons sit second in League One, three points above fellow promotion chasers Wycombe with eight games to play.
At the very least, Wrexham are poised to contest the playoffs and the opportunity to scoop a third consecutive promotion.
The north Wales club is bankrolled by Hollywood duo Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenny who completed a takeover in February 2021.
The pair are estimated to share a combined wealth of £309million, and that could rise further in the event of another successful campaign.
Promotion this season would see Wrexham just one step away from their dream destination of the Premier League, having never featured in the top flight in the club's history.
But it’s one step at a time for the club that, under Reynolds and McElhenney, has built a global brand thanks partly to their popular 'Welcome to Wrexham' documentary.
The show, which has posted three series' so far, has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards and two Critics’ Choice Television Awards which has helped put the club firmly on the map and extend their global reach to a new demographic of fans.
Their savvy sponsorship deals coupled with smart recruitment leaves Wrexham in a strong position in the event of promotion.
And if promotion to the Championship is sealed, Maguire says they would compete financially with clubs dropping out of the Premier League that receive parachute payments.
"Wrexham made three times as much as any other club in League Two, more than any other club in League One and they would be in the top half of the Championship," Maguire told talkSPORT.
"Therefore they're not that far behind the Championship's big hitters – the likes of Stoke and Norwich. It's an incredible achievement in terms of bringing in money.
"It’s also their ability to become an international brand which has really driven this.
"I was teaching in Charlotte, North Carolina last year and the only shirts I saw were those of Wrexham, which is an amazing achievement and that’s on the back of the documentary."
Wrexham's long-term vision is to reach the grandeur of the Premier League and, although a possible stint in the Championship is likely to present the club's biggest challenge to date, Maguire believes they should be well placed to further invest in the squad.
"If they get promoted this year that adds another £8m of TV money because they will be in the Championship," he added.
"So that would put them fairly close to all of the clubs except for those who will be in receipt of parachute payments in the Championship.
"I think that they are in a very strong position from a PSR (Profit and Sustainability Rules) point of view. Last year they lost £2.5m, they can lose £39m over three years when they get to the Championship.
"They have the capacity to invest in players and invest in improving the infrastructure and I think they will be an exhilarating proposition to watch because everybody's eyes will be on them.
"They will be up against some really big teams who have just been relegated from the Premier League, whereas they can point to two years ago being in the National League."
Maguire continued: "They have Hollywood stardust attached to them and that's allowed them to sign these amazing sponsorship deals with some big-hitting international and global brands they wouldn't have got ten years ago.
"Everybody's heard of Wrexham and that's off the back of the documentary and Reynolds and McElhenney who have done very well out of this as well.
"They are smart cookies as well as being very gregarious. They've allowed the club to piggy back on their brand and become this globally-known name."
