Premier League Clubs Must Not Be Disadvantaged by EFL Deal, Warns Birmingham Chairman

Birmingham City co-owner and chairman Tom Wagner has warned that any wealth redistribution deal between the Premier League and the English Football League (EFL) must not come at the cost of the competitive edge of England’s top-flight.

Wagner, who partnered with NFL legend Tom Brady to acquire Birmingham City in 2023, stressed that while he supports strengthening the football pyramid, "the top of the pyramid must remain highly competitive and retain its enormous brand value."

The EFL continues to push for a substantial settlement to make the pyramid more sustainable, with the revenue gap between the Premier League and the Championship alone now exceeding £5 billion. However, no final deal has been reached.

Earlier this year, West Ham United vice-chairman Karren Brady claimed in the House of Lords that a "credible and generous proposal" had been rejected by the EFL — a statement that was denied by the League, which said only that discussions had briefly resumed.

Speaking at the Leaders sports business conference, Wagner said:

"What I would say is that we’d love to have more revenue, and we’d love to see the pyramid strengthened, but what we don’t want to see is for whatever percentage we land on result in a less competitive top of the pyramid."

He added: "From an international perspective, it’s not for me to say what the right percentage is, but I think what we want is for the top of the pyramid to still have that enormous brand value, be highly competitive internationally, and I think that that will draw more attention to English football generally."

Wagner believes the Premier League’s global reach still has significant room to grow:

"When I say that it’s going to grow, that doesn’t mean that we have to play more matches or increase ticket prices — we can distribute to a broader audience. I would posit that there are many billions of people every match that are not consuming it either directly or indirectly."

The Premier League has already committed £1.6 billion to the wider football pyramid from its current broadcast cycle (2022–2025). Meanwhile, the UK government’s newly established Independent Football Regulator (IFR) will hold the power to enforce an agreement if no deal is struck, although the body may take time to become fully operational.

Key Takeaways:

• Wagner stresses Premier League must not lose value under EFL redistribution.

• £5bn+ revenue gap separates Premier League and Championship.

• Dispute continues despite government pressure for agreement.

• Premier League committed £1.6bn to the pyramid (2022–2025).

• Wagner urges growth via global audience reach, not extra fixtures.

  
  For now, the redistribution debate continues, but Wagner remains firm that any settlement must not undermine the international prestige and competitiveness of the Premier League.