By Adam Williams, Finance & Governance Correspondent

12th May, 2023 | 7:00am

Revealed: West Ham could now trump Newcastle United as £37m payout on the cards

West Ham are on course to earn a total of almost £37million if they win the Europa Conference League this season, Football Insider analysis shows.

That sum would be comprised of £17.25m in prize money and a further £19.7m for qualifying for the Europa League in 2023-24.

Remarkably, that is more than Newcastle United – who are 3rd in the Premier League, 12 points above West Ham, with three games to go – could earn from qualifying for the Champions League.

The Hammers host Dutch side AZ Alkmaar in the first leg of the Conference League semi-final on Thursday (11 May), hoping to reach their first major European final.

Victory over two legs would guarantee them an extra £2.7m in prize money, rising to £4.4m if they lift the trophy on 7 June.

That is on top of the circa £12.85m they have already banked en route to the semi-finals, made up of a participation fee, market-pool payout, coefficient-based windfall and performance-related bonuses.

Qualification for the Europa League next season would be worth a bare minimum of £19.7m, and that could be topped up significantly with progress in the competition.

Football Insider analysis shows that Newcastle will earn £27m from participation in the Champions League next term, although that too will likely be supplemented by performance-related bonuses.

That means that West Ham will effectively earn more than the Tynesiders from European qualification – at least before a ball is kicked next season – despite playing in a lower-tier competition.

Newcastle’s relatively modest initial payments from Uefa are largely due to their lowly ranking in Uefa’s 10-year coefficient table, a system which many analysts claim protects the established elite in European football.

They will likely earn around £3m from the coefficient pot, while the top-ranked side in next season’s Champions League will take home roughly £32m.

In other news, West Ham could now lose virtual ever-present as well as Declan Rice.