The Lionesses shed blood, sweat and tears to win Euro 2025 but a portion of their prize money will be heading elsewhere.
England clawed their way to an unlikely European Championship title defence in Switzerland in July, culminating in a dramatic penalty shoot-out win in the final against world champions Spain.
Sarina Wiegman's team led for just four minutes across more than six hours of knock-out football, coming from behind against Sweden, Italy and Spain to become back-to-back champions.
Bit by bit, late goals from Lucy Bronze, Michelle Agyemang and Chloe Kelly took England to the final in Basel.
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After conceding first again, the Lionesses equalised through Alessia Russo in the second half to set up the shoot-out.
Kelly grabbed the moment by the scruff of the neck again, blasting in the deciding spot kick three years after prodding in the final winner against Germany at Wembley.
England's celebrations back in London were a sight to behold once more and cash rewards must have been the furthest thing from their minds.
But the prize money package on offer was immediately slashed by the realities of playing a team sport in a civilised society.
UEFA put up a total of £34 million in prize money for the competition, a record for the Women's Euros.
"A whopping £4.4m was set aside for the champions, including performance bonuses, with participating teams required to distribute between 30 per cent and 40 per cent of their prize money to the players," according to the Manchester Evening News.
"The Lionesses reportedly agreed on a bonus structure with the FA ahead of Euro 2025, with The Guardian reporting that England stars would receive a collective payout of £1.75m should they win the trophy."
A tax expert revealed that the squad would pay roughly £788,000 in tax and National Insurance before taking home a combined windfall in the region of £1 million.
Sporting prize money is routinely taxed in the United Kingdom and many other countries, so the harsh mathematics will have come as no surprise to the triumphant Lionesses.
The Lionesses have other opportunities on the way
England's players will be able to cash in on their fame in other ways, commanding higher wages when their club contracts come up for renewal and commercial opportunities undoubtedly queuing up for a group of players who left the tournament as legitimate superstars.
The Euro 2025 final was England's third major tournament final in a row and the fifth for Wiegman, who also made history as the winner of a remarkable three consecutive European Championships.
Topics: Football, England, Womens Football
Chris Nee