The combined revenue of Premier League clubs increased by almost £1bn last season, according to analysis from Deloitte’s Sports Business Group.
Top-flight clubs reported revenues of £4.5bn in 2016/17, up from £3.6bn the season before with clubs collectively reporting pre-tax profits of £0.5bn.
This is five times what it was the season before and three times the record which was set in 2013/14 while Premier League club wage bills also increased by 9% to £2.5bn, which is also a new record.
Dan Jones, Partner and head of the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, commented: “As predicted last year, the Premier League’s three year broadcast deals which came into effect in the 2016/17 season helped drive revenue to record levels.
“Despite wages increasing by 9% to £2.5bn, this increase is nowhere near the level of revenue growth noted.
This relative restraint from Premier League clubs reflects both the extent of their financial advantage over other leagues and the impact of domestic and European cost control measures.”
Deloitte’s figures show that only 23p out of every extra £1 in revenue as gone on increasing wages with the revenue to wage ratio down from 63% in 2015/16 to 55% in 2016/17 which is the lowest it’s been since the 1997/98 campaign.
Tim Bridge, Senior Consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: “We have already seen some clubs utilising their significant revenue increases, with a record £1.9bn spent on transfers in the 2017/18 season.
We may again see similar levels of spending in the coming season, with the FIFA World Cup providing the perfect shop window for talent, but expenditure remains well within the means of clubs.”
