Wrexham co-owner Rob McElhenney. Orlando Ramirez-Imagn Images

Why Wrexham's financial hole is actually all part of the plan

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Oct 23, 2024 11:57 AM ET

Wrexham AFC turned 160-years-old on Tuesday and celebrated its birthday with a classic 0-0 draw at home against League One foe Huddersfield.

The Welsh club, which plays in the world's oldest international football stadium, the Racecourse Grounds, entered the world spotlight in 2020 when it was purchased by actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds.

Four years later it sits two divisions higher than where it once played, the third tier of the English footballing pyramid. But all that recent success has had an impactful cost on the team's coffers.

Wrexham spent nearly 30 million pounds this offseason, making its wage bill among the top six of League One, per ESPN.

The Long Play's Jordan Macauley laid out a thorough explanation of Wrexham's financials since McElhenney and Reynolds took over and how the team actually planned to spend big and make up the deficit later, a common gamble in English soccer.

As of the end of the 2023 season, Wrexham's revenue increased six fold since it was bought in 2020. But at the same time, with each jump the club has taken into a better league its costs have grown exponentially as well, actually putting the club in the red.

Wrexham's offseason spending and ballooning wage bill is a significant portion of those costs as the team needs better (more expensive) players if it wants to at least keep up with the competition of better leagues.

The club has also poured millions of pounds into its stadium, which it hadn't owned outright since 2011, aiming to increase capacity and improve facilities to meet league requirements. With more seats come more fans and more revenue.

So, despite the team spending a lot of money, the plan has always been to make more as it sees greater success and with that, increased popularity worldwide. Wrexham made the most revenue from retail sales in 2023, a significant chunk of it coming from the U.S. It is also the only club in its league with a documentary series syndicated on Disney+ and Hulu, thus exposing it to American audiences.

Wrexham is projected to generate over 20 million pounds this year, and anticipation over the club's potential jump to the Premier League in upcoming years will only help that number grow in that time.

The club currently sits in second place in League One, behind only Birmingham City, which is owned in part by NFL legend Tom Brady.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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