It will be a case of for love, not money if Newcastle United hoist the Carabao Cup next weekend at Wembley stadium against Manchester United.
The competition will still offer a more lucrative gateway into European competition via the Europa League, but the prize money will be paltry compared to other competitions. And while ending the trophy drought is the only thing on the minds of fans, it is the Champions League where the real money lies.
Indeed, Newcastle will only pick up £100,000 in prize money from the EFL and sponsors Carabao if they win the League Cup a week on Sunday. They have also stacked up a small amount of prize money for reaching the final too and of course will be entitled to gate money from the big day too.
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The Magpies earned £7,000 from the prize pot for beating Tranmere Rovers, while the third round victory over Crystal Palace on penalties banked another £10,000. Seeing off Bournemouth in the last 16 banked £15,000 while the quarter-final victory over Leicester City earned £25,000.
The two-legged semi-final victory over Southampton earned another £25,000 and even if Newcastle did lose to Man United at Wembley they will pocket another £50,000. The comparison between prize pots in the EFL-backed League Cup compared to the FA Cup is vast.
This year's FA Cup winners will earn £2million in prize money while the runners-up get £1million. The Champions League will offer bigger bucks for Newcastle if they can hold on to their top four place in the last 16 matches.
The 32 teams who qualified for the 2022-23 Champions League group stage got a starting fee of €15.64 million from UEFA, while group stage bonuses are €2.8 million per match for a win and €930,000 for a draw. When the prize pots are assessed, it's easy to see why Mike Ashley had a bad attitude towards the domestic cups.
But as the new owners on Tyneside have proved, they are in it for more than just profit making and know that winning a cup will generate funds elsewhere throughout the organisation in merchandise sales and momentum around St James' Park. And the competition has been deemed important enough for the likes of Man City, Liverpool and Man United to win in recent years.
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