With the Club World Cup just a few months away, the prize pool remains a mystery. Early on in the process, there were rumors that each of the 32 participating teams would be guaranteed $50 million. Those reports always seemed a little suspicious, as that would represent a payday equivalent to several years worth of revenue for some teams.
Around this time a year ago, Sounders majority owner Adrian Hanauer cast serious doubt on that figure and even suggested that he expected to see only a fraction of whatever teams from UEFA are guaranteed.
Now comes a report that effectively quashes the $50 million figure but suggests a relatively large guarantee is still on the table.
According to Italian publication Calcio e Finanza, FIFA is close to finalizing a deal with the European Club Association that would guarantee each of their participating teams €15 million-€18 million, with the potential to get as much as €25m just for getting to the knockout stage.
Even half of that would be a massive payday for the Sounders, and would represent something like a 10% increase in their 2024 revenue. For a team that has only paid one transfer fee since 2021 and is looking to potentially add two U22s, that sort of windfall would also go a long way to funding some additions.
