Carabao Cup football returns this week, but Leeds will not be involved.
A chastening defeat to Sheffield Wednesday on penalties in the second round brought a swift end to Daniel Farke‘s involvement in the competition this season.
While Leeds fans would have been disappointed to exit the competition at the first hurdle to a Championship outfit, the 49ers arguably won’t care too much considering the ridiculously low amounts of prize money on offer.
Carabao Cup provides little financial incentive for the 49ers compared to Premier League survival
Every fanbase wants silverware, but at the minute, Premier League survival is far more important for Leeds – especially from a financial viewpoint.
As you can see below, Leeds only would have received £7,000 in prize money had Farke managed to overcome Sheffield Wednesday.
Surprisingly, if Leeds – who want Haji Wright – were to have progressed all the way and lifted the trophy, the English Football League (EFL) would award just £100,000 in prize money.
Round Money
First Round winners £5,000
Second Round winners £7,000
Third Round winners £10,000
Fourth Round winners £15,000
Quarter-Final winners £25,000
Semi-Final winners £25,000
Runners-up £50,000
Winner £100,000
That would only be enough to pay Dominic Calvert-Lewin for one week, according to figures on Capology, so the 49ers presumably won’t be too bothered about missing out on Carabao Cup progression.
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The main task for Farke – who Leeds are backing – is Premier League survival, which is far more lucrative to those in the boardroom.
How Premier League prize money compares to the Carabao Cup
The difference in prize money between these two competitions is truly seismic.
Liverpool – £174.9m
Arsenal – £171.5m
Manchester City – £165.5m
Chelsea – £163.7m
Newcastle United – £160.2m
Aston Villa – £159.3m
Nottingham Forest – £152.5m
Brighton – £145.1m
Bournemouth – £143.4m
Brentford – £138.9m
Fulham – £135.5m
Crystal Palace – £136.1m
Everton – £131.8m
West Ham – £130.9m
Manchester United – £136.2m
Wolves – £123.1m
Tottenham – £127.8m
Leicester – £116.9m
Ipswich Town – £111.1m
Southampton – £109.2m
Leeds players celebrate with Joe Rodon after scoring vs West Ham.
Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images
Last term, Southampton earned £109.2m in total despite finishing rock bottom of the Premier League on 12 points, with a sum of £29.8m handed to each side just for partaking in the division that season.
That £109.2m figure works out at over 1,000 times the fee handed to the Carabao Cup winners, so while a trophy would be nice, the 49ers will most likely forgive Farke for the early exit to Sheffield Wednesday.