Inside Wrexham’s Finances: How Ryan Reynolds And Rob McElhenney Built a $450 Million Football Club
Wrexham is one of the most interesting case studies in the history of sports business. The same 160-year-old football club that Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney acquired for only $2 million in 2021 is now generating more than $40 million in annual revenue and recently received a minority investment from Apollo Sports Capital at a $450-500 million valuation.
So for today’s newsletter, I spent the last few days digging into Wrexham’s annual financial statements. Unlike in the U.S., where professional sports teams are incredibly secretive about their finances, all UK limited companies — private or public — are legally required to prepare, report, and file annual financial accounts.
This level of transparency provides an unprecedented behind-the-scenes look at one of football’s most innovative projects. We’ll start by covering Wrexham’s revenue growth, sponsorship income, and stadium renovation project, but then I want to dig into some of Wrexham’s more unique data points, including how much money the club makes off its “Welcome to Wrexham” documentary, why its finances aren’t reliant on promotion, and how Reynolds and McElhenney are able to make millions from the club each year without selling a single share of equity.
Let’s get into it…
Wrexham generated £33.35 million ($43.9 million at current exchange rates) in revenue last year, a record for a third-tier club not in receipt of parachute payments (think: the money relegated clubs receive to offset revenue loss). In total, Wrexham has seen its annual revenue climb from $1.9 million in 2021 → $7.8 million in 2022 → $13.8 million in 2023 → $35.1 million in 2024 → $43.9 million in 2025. That’s a 23x increase in revenue from when Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney initially purchased the club from its supporters trust.
Despite posting record revenues last season (and a historic third consecutive promotion), Wrexham finished 2025 with a $19.5 million loss. The club has now lost more than $33 million over the last four full seasons under its new ownership group…but we’ll dive deeper into those numbers in a second.
Wrexham’s geographical diversification is unprecedented. Last year, 2% of the club’s revenue came from Europe, 40% came from the United Kingdom, and 58% came from the rest of the world (primarily North America). This figure — North America as a % of income — is up from 52% in 2024 and 25% in 2023. In other words, Wrexham might be selling more tickets, merchandise, and concessions, but the club’s growth is coming from U.S. sponsorship deals.