Ever heard of a nine-figure payday? That's the reality for Premier League clubs, who are each guaranteed an almighty financial boost when the top-flight's broadcast and central commercial revenues are divided up.
The bulk of this figure is made up of equal share payments from international and UK broadcasters, which totalled £55.7m and £31.2m respectively last season, along with a smaller one-off central commercial payment, which worked out as £8.2m 2023/2024. All three of these sums are distributed to each of the 20 clubs.
Clubs also receive a facility fee based on how many league games they have beamed out in this country - [Newcastle United](https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/all-about/newcastle-united-fc), for instance, took home £20.2m after having 23 top-flight matches shown live last year - as well as a merit payment from UK broadcasters depending on where they finish. If that was not enough, there is then an additional merit payment from international TV companies, which did not even exist once upon a time.
The pot, after all, had previously been shared equally, but any increase in international television rights has subsequently been dished out based on where a team ends up in the table since 2019. Why? Let football finance expert Kieran Maguire explain.
"What Leicester did was amazing but it was seen as an anomaly, an outlier, in 2016," he told ChronicleLive. "The bigger clubs pressurised the smaller clubs into conceding more money from the distribution deal to try and ensure it doesn't happen again."
Although it is worth pointing out that each club still receives the aforementioned equal share payment from international broadcasters, this subsequent merit payment is still significant, particularly in a PSR world.
Whereas the top five in the league 'only' took home a merit payment of between £5.9m and £7.4m from overseas broadcasters, as recently as 2022, that figure has since soared following an increase in international rights. Manchester City, for instance, banked an additional £22.6m from international TV companies for winning the Premier League last season whereas lowly Sheffield United were given just £1.1m.
The Citizens have been among the main beneficiaries for years alongside Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Spurs given how rare it once was for an outsider to disrupt their dominance. In fact, Leicester City were the only upstart to previously finish in the top four between 2006 and 2022 following the Foxes' incredible title win. However, the landscape has changed dramatically since then.
Not only did Newcastle qualify for the Champions League in 2023 - Aston Villa followed suit a year later. It is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility that both of these sides could end up securing a place at Europe's top table on the final day. In truth, whatever happens, the days of the so-called big six are a thing of the past.