Sutton United Set For Bumper Payday As It Hosts FA Cup Fifth Round

Win or lose, National League side Sutton United is "set for a bumper payday" when it hosts 12-time winner Arsenal in the fifth round of the FA Cup on Monday, according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Defeat for the lowest-ranked club left in the draw, a side that beat League Championship club Leeds United 1-0 in the previous round, could see it "bow out with up to" £700,000 ($874,000) "in the bank." And an "unthinkable" victory at the club's 5,000-seat Gander Green Lane ground would "likely add another nought to the eventual total." Winning the fourth-round tie secured prize money of £90,000 ($112,400) and a fifth-round victory "would double that sum, according to the FA's figures." To that, Sutton can add £144,000 ($179,900) from live TV coverage of the Leeds match and £247,500 ($309,200) for Monday's game. The possibility of a subsequent away trip to another Premier League "glamour team," such as ManU or Chelsea, means Sutton is "effectively playing for a potential" £1M ($1.25M) "bonanza" on Monday (REUTERS, 2/15).