English football is much more than ticket sales. Television rights sold around the world generate large payments that flow through the Premier League to its clubs. Yet the league organiser and its 20 member clubs maintain different accounts. Adding their reported revenue together would overstate the size of the business because some money is counted twice.
For the financial year ended July 2025, the organiser reported revenue of 3,655.9 million GBP (4,820.3 million USD). Deloitte put the combined revenue of the clubs competing in 2024/25 at 6.8 billion GBP (9.0 billion USD). These amounts represent different stages in the same commercial flow rather than two entirely independent pools of fresh income.
At the Bank of England's 2025 average exchange rate, that club total is approximately 295 billion THB (9.0 billion USD). The conversion helps Thai readers assess the scale but does not represent British government tax receipts or turnover earned by the league company alone. The more revealing questions concern how the money is generated, which clubs can generate additional revenue and what portion translates into taxable activity.
The league and its clubs have separate accounts
The central league organisation negotiates broadcasting and commercial rights on behalf of its members, distributes proceeds according to agreed rules and supports football below the top division. Each club then records its league distribution as part of its own income, alongside matchday receipts, sponsorship, merchandise and money from European competitions.
The Football Association Premier League Limited reported turnover of 3,655.9 million GBP (4,820.3 million USD) for the year ended 31 July 2025. International broadcast rights contributed an underlying 1,851.4 million GBP (2,441.3 million USD), before currency adjustments, while distributions to member clubs recorded under cost of sales reached 2,817.6 million GBP (3,715.0 million USD). Figures drawn from these different accounting lines must not be added indiscriminately.
Adding the organiser's 3,655.9 million GBP (4,820.3 million USD) to the clubs' 6.8 billion GBP (9.0 billion USD) would double count revenue transferred from one entity to another. Measuring net economic value added requires a different methodology.
Broadcasting is the foundation, but clubs have unequal earning power
For 2024/25, Deloitte estimated combined club broadcasting revenue at 3.4 billion GBP (4.5 billion USD), commercial revenue at 2.4 billion GBP (3.2 billion USD) and matchday revenue at more than 1.0 billion GBP (1.3 billion USD) for the first time. Commercial receipts rose 13% from a year earlier, while broadcasting increased only 2%. These are lines in club accounts, not the league organiser's sale of rights.
Shared television distributions offer smaller clubs a substantial income base even without a worldwide following. But Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester United can attract more expansive sponsorship, retail and licensing businesses. Matchday income also varies with stadium size, ticket pricing, hospitality facilities and the number of home fixtures in other competitions.
The divide is especially visible in commercial income. Deloitte estimated that the so-called Big Six captured 73% of the league's combined commercial receipts in 2024/25. Central payments help sustain smaller members, but independent commercial revenue depends heavily on each club's fan base and negotiating power.
A multiyear rights deal is not the same as cash collected in one financial year. Nor is a fee received for selling a player necessarily recorded as operating turnover in the revenue table below. Transfers can produce accounting gains on player registration rights, which should be analysed separately.
Matchday Finance estimates that the new UK and overseas television-rights contracts have a combined annualised value of roughly 3.84 billion GBP (5.18 billion USD). That estimate averages deals with different contract lengths; it is neither audited 2024/25 club income nor an additional amount that can simply be added to Deloitte's 3.4 billion GBP (4.5 billion USD) broadcasting total.
How does the Premier League distribute its central income?
The distribution formula is more complicated than league position. According to the Premier League, UK domestic television income is split 50% equally, 25% according to final table position and 25% according to the number of matches selected for domestic live coverage. Crucially, this 50:25:25 formula does not apply to all centrally generated income.
Overseas broadcast rights have an equal basic allocation plus a merit-related increment, subject to rules limiting the disparity between clubs. Central commercial revenue also includes an equal-share element. Domestic, international and commercial components must therefore be considered together before calculating any club's total league distribution.
Merit payments are only one part of that total. Using information from a number of clubs, The Athletic estimated that central distributions for 2025/26 exceeded 3.0 billion GBP (4.05 billion USD), compared with about 2.8 billion GBP (3.78 billion USD) in the previous cycle. These are not final club-by-club payments officially certified by the league.
The following table lists estimated central payments for all 20 clubs that played in 2025/26. It does not show each club's overall revenue, net profit or a prize fund allocated solely by finishing position. The figures attributed to The Athletic may differ from final settlements.
| 2025/26 position | Club | Estimated central distribution |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 198.7 million GBP (268.1 million USD) |
| 2 | Manchester City | 192.5 million GBP (259.8 million USD) |
| 3 | Manchester United | 191.5 million GBP (258.4 million USD) |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 182.6 million GBP (246.4 million USD) |
| 5 | Liverpool | 181.8 million GBP (245.3 million USD) |
| 6 | AFC Bournemouth | 170.5 million GBP (230.1 million USD) |
| 7 | Sunderland | 168.2 million GBP (227.0 million USD) |
| 8 | Brighton & Hove Albion | 161.6 million GBP (218.1 million USD) |
| 9 | Brentford | 161.5 million GBP (217.9 million USD) |
| 10 | Chelsea | 162.6 million GBP (219.4 million USD) |
| 11 | Fulham | 155.2 million GBP (209.4 million USD) |
| 12 | Newcastle United | 154.5 million GBP (208.5 million USD) |
| 13 | Everton | 147.7 million GBP (199.3 million USD) |
| 14 | Leeds United | 144.5 million GBP (195.0 million USD) |
| 15 | Crystal Palace | 137.5 million GBP (185.6 million USD) |
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 137.1 million GBP (185.0 million USD) |
| 17 | Tottenham Hotspur | 135.8 million GBP (183.3 million USD) |
| 18 | West Ham United | 128.6 million GBP (173.5 million USD) |
| 19 | Burnley | 118.1 million GBP (159.4 million USD) |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 117.7 million GBP (158.8 million USD) |
Chelsea finished tenth but was estimated to receive 162.6 million GBP (219.4 million USD), more than eighth-placed Brighton's 161.6 million GBP (218.1 million USD). The difference illustrates how broadcast appearances and other distribution elements can matter as much as table position.
The clubs in this 2025/26 payment table are not the same 20 clubs competing in 2026/27. West Ham United, Burnley and Wolverhampton Wanderers, for example, appear in the historical payment table but are not members of the current top division.
Revenue of the 20 clubs currently in the 2026/27 Premier League
The following table covers the 20 members as at 15 October 2026 but compares their reported 2024/25 accounting revenue. A complete set of newer 2025/26 accounts was not yet available. The amounts are rounded estimates assembled from company filings by PSRwatch; they are not forecasts for 2026/27.
Coventry City, Hull City, Leeds United and Sunderland played in the Championship during that base period, making direct comparisons with top-flight clubs misleading. Ipswich Town played in the Premier League in 2024/25 before being relegated and returning in 2026/27.
| 2026/27 club | 2024/25 reported revenue | Competition in base year |
|---|---|---|
| AFC Bournemouth | 182.0 million GBP (240.0 million USD) | Premier League |
| Arsenal | 691.0 million GBP (911.1 million USD) | Premier League |
| Aston Villa | 378.0 million GBP (498.4 million USD) | Premier League |
| Brentford | 173.1 million GBP (228.2 million USD) | Premier League |
| Brighton & Hove Albion | 221.0 million GBP (291.4 million USD) | Premier League |
| Chelsea | 491.0 million GBP (647.4 million USD) | Premier League |
| Coventry City | 34.2 million GBP (45.1 million USD) | Championship |
| Crystal Palace | 195.3 million GBP (257.5 million USD) | Premier League |
| Everton | 196.7 million GBP (259.3 million USD) | Premier League |
| Fulham | 194.8 million GBP (256.8 million USD) | Premier League |
| Hull City | 25.8 million GBP (34.0 million USD) | Championship |
| Ipswich Town | 155.4 million GBP (204.9 million USD) | Premier League |
| Leeds United | 137.0 million GBP (180.6 million USD) | Championship |
| Liverpool | 703.0 million GBP (926.9 million USD) | Premier League |
| Manchester City | 694.0 million GBP (915.0 million USD) | Premier League |
| Manchester United | 666.5 million GBP (878.8 million USD) | Premier League |
| Newcastle United | 335.3 million GBP (442.1 million USD) | Premier League |
| Nottingham Forest | 221.8 million GBP (292.4 million USD) | Premier League |
| Sunderland | 39.4 million GBP (51.9 million USD) | Championship |
| Tottenham Hotspur | 565.0 million GBP (745.0 million USD) | Premier League |
For comparability, pound amounts in the 2024/25 accounts are converted at the Bank of England's 2025 annual average of 1.3185 USD per GBP. Estimated 2025/26 central distributions use a May 2026 average of 1.3495 USD per GBP, while EY's 2023/24 tax estimates use the 2024 annual average of 1.2783 USD per GBP. These illustrative conversions are not the exchange rates booked in club accounts.
Club financial-year endings and consolidation boundaries vary. The table is useful for comparing orders of magnitude, not fine-grained rankings. Its 20-club sum should not be mistaken for Deloitte's 2024/25 league-wide total, which covered a different set of participating clubs.
Why rising revenue does not guarantee club profits
Football clubs must pay players and staff, run fixtures and stadiums, and amortise acquired player registration rights. A transfer fee paid upfront or in instalments can be expensed across a contract's life, so accounting costs do not necessarily follow cash flows. High turnover therefore does not ensure either profit or free cash.
Deloitte reported an aggregate wage bill of 4.4 billion GBP (5.8 billion USD), or roughly 65% of revenue, for 2024/25 Premier League participants. The clubs nevertheless recorded a combined pre-tax loss of 948.0 million GBP (1,249.9 million USD). A growing market does not automatically mean better returns for every owner or club.
A meaningful financial assessment should place turnover alongside wages as a share of revenue, debt, player amortisation and the resilience of commercial income, not simply the league table or annual sales figure.
Which taxes does the United Kingdom receive?
The industry's tax footprint is wider than corporate income tax on football clubs. Salaries, goods, services and activity around stadiums give rise to different liabilities across the economy.
- Personal income tax and National Insurance. Pay to players, coaches and staff can generate individual taxes and employee contributions, with clubs also potentially paying employer National Insurance.
- Value added tax. Ticket sales, taxable services, merchandise and certain commercial transactions are governed by VAT rules.
- Corporation tax. This applies to taxable profit after relevant adjustments, not gross sales. The UK's principal corporation tax rate in tax year 2026 is 25% for companies within the main-rate profit band, with reliefs and other rules applying elsewhere.
- Taxes across the supply chain. Accommodation, restaurants, transport, media and suppliers have their own taxable activities linked to football spending; counting wider effects requires an economic-impact model with clearly stated boundaries.
A club reporting an accounting loss may still give rise to payroll and consumption taxes. Multiplying club turnover by the 25% corporation tax rate would use the wrong tax base.
What does EY's tax contribution estimate actually measure?
EY estimated that Premier League and club activity in 2023/24 supported 4.4 billion GBP (5.6 billion USD) in UK tax revenues, including 2.1 billion GBP (2.7 billion USD) associated with players and staff. Its study also cited 9.8 billion GBP (12.5 billion USD) of UK gross value added and more than 100,000 jobs supported.
Those are modeled economic and tax contributions under EY's methodology, not corporation tax directly paid by the 20 clubs for 2026/27. Nor are they an England-only fiscal receipt; the study covers the whole United Kingdom.
Because the EY study covers 2023/24 rather than the 2024/25 accounts used elsewhere, dividing the EY tax total by club turnover would not produce a meaningful effective tax rate.
Can Premier League revenue keep growing?
Global broadcasting remains a major commercial advantage. Deloitte forecast that aggregate Premier League club turnover could exceed 7.0 billion GBP (9.2 billion USD) in 2025/26, helped by the new rights cycle and European-competition income. The projection is not yet an audited outcome.
Future growth will depend on broadcasters' willingness to pay, wage bills, squad-cost controls, the widening gulf between elite and smaller clubs, and the sporting risk that changes central distributions. For the government, stronger wages and spending may expand some tax bases, but tax receipts need not rise at the same rate as TV contracts: profitability, business structures and tax relief all matter.
Key insight The Premier League sells the global appeal of English football, but league turnover, club turnover, profit and government tax revenue measure different things. Sustainable success means turning broadcast cash into profitable enterprises and genuine taxable activity, not merely bigger sales figures.
Recap To understand what the UK receives from the Premier League, ask three distinct questions. How much do clubs earn? How much profit remains after costs? How much tax and employment does football activity support across the United Kingdom? Those measures should never be conflated.
