Southampton lost out on a lot of money when Spygate stopped them in their tracks last season.
Indeed, winning promotion up to the Premier League - via the lottery of the playoffs - often sees the lucky few who succeed and go all the way gain £200m.
As a result of the Saints being kicked out of the playoffs in an unprecedented move, they lost out on significant riches.
Tonda Eckert has also been fined £28,000 for his involvement, as he was handed a suspended six-week ban recently.
The losses don't stop here, however, as football finance expert Kieran Maguire has laid bare how much money the Saints have lost over the last decade, as one of 48 teams who called the Championship home over the last ten years.
Saints have lost £81m
Maguire has compiled all 48 clubs who have resided in the Championship at some stage over the last decade, and - rather alarmingly - only one of the teams can boast a profit.
Burton Albion are the anomaly, as the Brewers - who are now a League One mainstay - can boast a modest profit of £1.1m.
Away from Gary Bowyer's men, the rest all have losses next to their name, ranging from only £162k in Peterborough United's case, all the way up to Southampton who have made a loss of £81m.
Only one club of the 48 that have played in the Championship over the last decade has made an operating profit per @valuball
— Kieran Maguire (@KieranMaguire) October 23, 2026
Eight have made losses exceeding £200m in that period (2015/16 to 2024/25). pic.twitter.com/J785LQIYie
Worked out via Valuball, this graphic shows just why Southampton were so desperate to try and break into the big time, so they could gain more extravagant riches, and get out of their £81m hole.
Strikingly, having an £81m loss next to your name looks pretty good going compared to other more unfortunate clubs on the list, with Bristol City rocking up a loss of £259m.
There is also Middlesbrough, who are right at the bottom of the graphic, who have an eye-watering £268m amount of losses to wrestle with.
Their Championship rival has lost way more
Boro have not dined at the luxurious Premier League table for some time now.
The Teesside giants are currently playing out their tenth straight season in the Championship, and its clearly having its toll, as - alongside Leeds United - they have lost the largest amount of money of all the 48 teams highlighted.
Like Southampton, they had a promotion near miss last season, as they lost that blockbuster playoff final match narrowly to Hull City.
Those riches would have been welcomed with open arms, that's for sure, but it ended up just being another near hit for Kim Hellberg's side.
Splashing out around £10m on Will Lankshear in the summer shows that Boro aren't too worried about their finances, and he is already paying back his lavish price-tag with nine goals.
But, if promotion isn't won soon, these losses will surely just keep stacking up and up at the Riverside.
They will be banking on this being their year, after the drama of Spygate arguably derailed their hopes last season.
Yet, with so many clubs wanting to make some money up in the brutal Championship, the promotion race will very fierce and competitive, as Southampton try to mount their own return to the Premier Leagie, after two successive seasons in the second tier wilderness, at the expense of their rival.
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