West Ham will not experience any major financial problems if relegated to the Championship as long as they significantly pare back their wage bill, says football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
The Hammers filed their accounts for 2024-25 on Monday, two days before a hard-fought 1-0 win away at Fulham inspired fresh confidence in their ability to survive in the Premier League.
Only goal difference stands between Nuno Espirito Santo’s side and safety as things stand. But should they be unable to beat the drop, the Irons can expect to see a minimum of £60m in annual TV money overnight, with a further knock-on effect on commercial and matchday revenue too.
And after last season’s books showed a £104m loss, the spectre of the EFL’s Profit and Sustainability Rules would loom large as well, even factoring in parachute payments.
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However, Maguire argues that while West Ham would undoubtedly need to recalibrate their squad – both in terms of player sales and wages – they are capable of riding out the most significant financial consequences of falling into the Championship for the first time since 2011-12.
“The Declan Rice get-out-of-jail-free card drops out of the equation,” University of Liverpool football finance lecturer says in exclusive conversation with Hammers News.
A pure-profit sale in PSR terms, Rice joined Arsenal for north of £100m in July 2023. As both the EFL and Premier League’s PSR systems work on a rolling three-season basis, 2025-26 is the last season from which the club benefits from that deal from a spending regulations perspective.
“Therefore, should the worst happen and they are relegated, Bowen would be a target. His amortised value would be close to zero, so there would be a sizable profit there,” the Price of Football podcast host and author continues.
“They will do a review of the highest earners and, for those who are out of contract, they will be offered substantially reduced terms or they will simply be allowed to leave.”
The figures released on Monday show that West Ham’s wage bill was £176m in 2024-25, an increase from £161m the previous season. This term, that figure will likely have risen again, albeit modestly.
“Their wage bill has been quite steady over the last two or three years,” says Maguire, “and there will be a reduction in rent at the London Stadium.
“That said, I don’t think they will have any problems financially. If they have a good start to the season, they will get good crowds. It’s a very loyal fanbase.“
West Ham’s matchday income was £40m last season. That was the highest in the Premier League besides the so-called Big Six and Newcastle United. Commercial income – that’s sponsorship, retail and the like – totalled £42m.
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