Hull City were promoted to the Premier League for the third time in their history after beating Middlesbrough at Wembley
By
Football issues correspondent
When Hull City won promotion back to the Premier League by beating Middlesbrough in the play-off final it came with guaranteed riches of around £200m.
Yet in a strange twist, winning that game means Hull must sell players before the end of the month to avoid a potential points deduction in the Premier League.
The Tigers have an overspend of around £6m on their profit and sustainability (PSR) calculation. Under English Football League rules, that could lead to a six-point penalty.
It is a breach caused by promotion bonuses included in the players' contracts.
Had Hull lost to Boro, they would not be in danger of exceeding the maximum losses of £39m for the past three seasons and there would be no points penalty in the Championship.
When the Premier League fixtures are published on Thursday morning (10:00 BST), the East Yorkshire club will have more than just their opening matches to think about.
'We have overspent and we have to sell some players'
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told BBC Sport that Hull's loses had been "relatively modest" in recent seasons.
"That was partly due to the fact that they had some very successful player sales and they contribute towards covering those losses," Maguire said, with the Tigers earning significant fees from the sales of winger Jaden Philogene and defender Jacob Greaves.
"The big challenge for Hull is that, as we saw with the Nottingham Forest charges and points deduction a couple of seasons ago, that if a club pays promotion bonuses, those bonuses are included in the PSR calculations.
"Therefore it can unwittingly can knock a club over the £39m limit."
Maguire says that in total a squad's promotion bonuses are worth between £10m and £15m.
Hull owner Acun Ilicali has been surprisingly candid that work must be done in the next couple of weeks.
"We have overspent and we have to sell some players before 1 July," Ilicali told a Q&A at the MKM Stadium at the start of the month.
"I'm not afraid. We have managed harder things. For us, this is more manageable.
"Now we are a Premier League team, the values [of players] has raised up which is a good advantage."
Acun Ilicali became owner of Hull City in 2022
Except Ilicali appears to have played his hand a little early, surrendering some of his bargaining power by openly admitting a clock is ticking.
Ilicali got Hull promoted against the odds, with the club restricted to loans and free agents in 2025-26 as punishment for making late transfer payments to other clubs.
Some of their key players - including Joe Gelhardt, Amir Hadziahmetovic, John Lundstram and Lewis Koumas - were only on loan.
The club would not want to lose the players that they do own who earned them promotion.
That includes Regan Slater, the 26-year-old midfielder who was named players' and supporters' player of the year.
Or Charlie Hughes, the 22-year-old centre-back who has won back-to-back young player of the year awards.
Hull have previously rejected offers for Hughes and goalkeeper Ivor Pandur, who is part of the Croatia squad at the World Cup.
With several Championship clubs interested in forward Kyle Joseph, a deal for the 24-year-old could cover much of the £6m.
The Tigers are also willing to invite offers for David Akintola, Abu Kamara and Kasey Palmer, with the latter two ending the season on loan at Getafe and Luton Town.
Ilicali is confident the money can be raised by selling players the club will not need in the Premier League.
Then next month they can turn to squad building.
Under PSR, deductions are now set based upon on the level of the overspend, locked to a grid.
Go over the £39m limit and it is a points deduction.
It starts at three points for under £2m, then four for between £2m and £4m, five for £4m to £6m, and six points for £6m to £8m.
A club can claim back one or two points in mitigation if their accounts show a positive trend, but this would not be the case for the Tigers.
Hull would argue that this is not a result of regular operational overspending. It is a by-product of their success as only the promotion bonuses have caused it.
This is unlikely to hold sway, as Forest discovered in 2024 when they were docked four points, as it is a sign of sporting benefit from payments made to players.
Leicester City provide the precedent for Hull to receive the deduction in the top flight.
In 2024, Leicester managed to avoid a penalty by arguing the Premier League did not have jurisdiction.
This led to a change in the rules, with the two competitions inserting reciprocal clauses in their regulations.
Such collaboration between the leagues was seen in February.
The Premier League took action against Leicester for an overspend through to the 2024-25 season. The EFL agreed to apply the six-point penalty in the Championship, which ultimately caused their relegation.
PSR is being replaced on 1 July by a new system called squad cost ratio SCR). Rather than assessing losses over a three year-period, it allows clubs to spend 85% of the income they generate on their squads and is assessed annually.
Could Hull face financial claims from Championship rivals?
Hull have until 31 December to submit their accounts to the EFL, with an assessment made in the New Year.
There was controversy when West Bromwich Albion were deducted two points for PSR losses on 24 April - eight days before the end of the Championship season.
The problem was largely of West Brom's own making, as they spent nearly three months arguing with the EFL over their accounts.
The intention, as would be the case for Hull, is to issue PSR charges and reach a decision much earlier in 2027.
Then there is the possibility that Hull's promotion rivals could consider action for financial compensation.
A recent judgment has seen Everton ordered to pay Burnley £35m as a result of the impact of the Toffees breaching spending rules.
Leeds are now considering their legal options over a historic breach by Leicester when the West Yorkshire club were beaten to automatic promotion.
Hull would say that their overspend did not earn them the place in the play-offs, with the breach only triggered by promotion itself.
Who could be contacting lawyers? Boro lost in the final, Hull beat Millwall in the semi-finals while the Tigers edged out Wrexham and Derby to take the last play-off spot.
Time is tight for Hull to find that £6m. If they fail to do so it will hang over their return to the Premier League.
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