Dan Neil of Sunderland lifts The Sky Bet Championship Play-Off trophy after his team's victory and subsequent promotion to the Premier League(Image: Getty Images)

Sunderland AFC made a loss in the year it was promoted to the Premiership but saw big improvements to its financial performance, new accounts have revealed. The club has released accounts for the year to end of July 2025 - essentially last season - which show that its revenues rose from £37.5m a year earlier to £39.4m.

Over the same period, the club’s wage bill rose significantly to £52.9m, meaning salaries alone accounted for 134% of its entire turnover. But a profit of £45.8m on transfers meant that the club actually narrowed its losses on the previous season, reporting an operating loss of £331,000.

Having a wage bill greater than a company’s turnover is almost unheard of in most businesses, but is not uncommon in modern-day football, especially among clubs chasing promotion to the lucrative Premier League. Middlesbrough FC last month also reported a wage higher than its turnover, though not to such a great extent.

The narrowing of losses came as Sunderland reported a £45.9m profit on...