Football is a £440 million industry in the Midlands according to new research showing Premier League clubs like and dominate in balance sheet terms.
The Annual Review of Football Finance by reveals the revenue of the three top flight clubs - which also includes Stoke City - soared to a combined £296.3 million last year.
Such is the gulf between the and the rest, their combined income was more than double the remaining 13 football clubs in the wider region, who brought in a total of £143.7 million.
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Former West Brom defender turned football administrator Brendon Batson said the advent of the Premier League, and giant broadcasting deals which followed, had drastically altered balance sheets.
Whereas once it was a level playing field for clubs, with matchday revenue key, today cash from tickets can be lower than ten per cent, behind broadcasting and commercial income.
Mr Batson said: "Everything has changed really. Turnstile income used to be the big thing - getting people through the gates - but it is not any more.
"The way it is sliced up means the more successful you are, the more money you accumulate, which then makes you more successful - I am talking about the top five clubs here.
"In a way, we have to be careful that we don't stifle competition. For Premier League clubs, there are four trophies - the league, the league cup, the FA Cup and retaining your Premier League status. Financially, clubs have to maintain their Premier League status."
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Aston Villa were top of the Midland league when it came to income, latest data shows, with revenue of £111.2 million for the 2014 financial year.
Stoke brought in £98.3 million while West Brom garnered £86.8 million.
Villa were one of the few Premier League teams to post a loss, albeit a far smaller one than the year before, at £4 million, while West Brom made a £12.7 million profit.
It was another planet to the best performers outside the top flight, with Wolves turning over £32.6 million and Birmingham City bringing in £20.6 million.
The Deloitte research showed Premier League clubs generated record revenue of £3.26 billion in the 2014 financial year - up 29 per cent year on year.
The average revenue for a Premier League club in 2013/14 was £163 million - just £7 million less than the combined revenues of the 22 clubs in the old First Division in 1991/92 - the final season before the introduction of the Premier League.
Mr Batson, who went on to become West Brom's managing director and was given an OBE for services to the game, said that change had been huge for the business of football.
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He said: "It is a bit of a double-edged sword as Football League clubs receive a subsidy payment from the Premier League which helps a bit because the broadcasting deal for Premier League clubs has made it very difficult for those outside.
"The difficulty that these clubs face trying to get into the Premier League means they are having to balance the risk."
It was revealed Aston Villa's income from the Premier League will be £68.6 million for the past season, with West Brom bringing in £72.7 million - which will go towards next year's accounts.
The rise is down to soaring broadcasting income which saw 14 of the 20 top flight sides record a pre-tax profit in 2014.
Meanwhile, clubs in the Championship, where Blues and Wolves reside, are in a desperate financial state.
The Deloitte research shows that, while overall revenue increased by 12 per cent to £491 million, the total wage bill was £518 million - meaning a 105 per cent wages-to-income ratio. Unsurprisingly, the net impact was a combined pre-tax loss of £247 million.
Adam Bull, senior consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: "Championship clubs continue to deliver some alarming financial results.
"Whilst the desire of individual clubs to reach the promised land of the Premier League is understandable and heightened, given the value of the new broadcast deals, The Football League is right to try and ensure this is not at the expense of the long-term sustainability of any club."