How Rupert Murdoch Changed Sports Media Forever
Less than three years after purchasing Wrexham AFC for a reported $2.5 million, Hollywood stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney have helped bring the club back to the English Football League for the first time since 2008.
With a 3-1 victory over Boreham Wood on Saturday, Wrexham clinched the National League title — and with it, promotion to EFL League Two.
The Red Dragons’ ascendancy to “league football” will be very lucrative for the Welsh club.
Between solidarity payments from the Premier League and basic prize money from EFL, Wrexham is reportedly set to bring in $1.24 million just for earning promotion. The club will also benefit from increased television broadcast revenue and ticket sales starting next season.
Interest in the club has grown both domestically and internationally under the Reynolds-McElhenney ownership.
- The two actors created the FX docuseries “Welcome to Wrexham,” which chronicles the club’s exploits under the new ownership.
- Wrexham’s digital audience rose from 747,855 in June 2022 to 1,779,066 in March 2023 — a 137.98% increase, according to data provided to Front Office Sports from sports data company Horizm.
- The club will embark on its first U.S. tour this summer, playing Chelsea and Manchester United in July.
“Rob and Ryan have given the football club the opportunity to reach its full potential that somebody without their profiles may never have been able to unlock,” Wrexham advisor Shaun Harvey told FOS.
