The UEFA Europa League is taking on increasingly greater importance as a tournament within the European continental framework, and there are a number of factors contributing to its growth.
On the field, the competition is second only to the UEFA Champions League. In fact, regular Champions League participants drop down to the Europa League every season with the likes of Barcelona, RB Leipzig and Atalanta finding themselves in the competition this season.
German side Eintracht Frankfurt was the team left standing, and in addition to European silverware, they also won an automatic bid to the 2022-23 Champions League group stage, which is prestigious, financially lucrative, and helps with offseason player recruitment.
A place in the August showcase event UEFA Super Cup is also guaranteed for the winner. Frankfurt will face Liverpool or Real Madrid in that event come August.
And if all that weren't enough, there's also a windfall in store for Eintracht Frankfurt after hoisting the trophy on May 18 in Seville, Spain. Below is a full breakdown of the cash that's been dispensed so far and what's coming the way of teams that played the final of the 2021-22 edition.
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How much does Europa League winner earn?
The Europa League finalists, Eintracht Frankfurt and Rangers, each attained $5.2 million merely for advancing to the championship match as the last two teams standing in the tournament. However, the winner came away with nearly double that amount.
Europa League champions Eintracht Frankfurt pocketed an extra $4.53 million due to qualifying for the UEFA Super Cup, the one-off encounter against the UEFA Champions League winners which is traditionally scheduled in August as the kickoff to the European season.
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Europa League Winner: $9.73 million
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Europa League Runner-up: $5.2 million
The full picture of how prize money in the Europa League is allocated can be found below in the following table.
Simply managing to reach the Europa League group stage is worth a handy $4.11 million for all 32 participants. The deeper an outfit managed to advance in the competition, the more financial incentives were collected along the way.
MORE: UEFA Champions League prize money breakdown
Europa League prize money breakdown 2022
| Stage | Prize Money |
| Winner | $9.73 million |
| Runner-up | $5.2 million |
| Semi-finalists | $3.17 million |
| Quarter-finalists | $2.03 million |
| Round of 16 | $1.35 million |
| Knockout round playoffs | $566,000 |
| Group winners | $1.24 million |
| Group runners-up | $623,152 |
| Group-stage win | $713.793 |
| Group-stage draw | $237.950 |
| Group-stage qualification | $4.11 million |