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Premier League Clubs See Record Revenue Decline

June 17, 2021

Friends,

With recent European Super League drama dominating headlines across professional sports globally, it’s no secret that financial stress caused by COVID-19 was one of the motivating factors.

In total, according to a new analysis from Deloitte Sports Business Group, the 20 teams making up the 2019-20 Premier League campaign brought in combined revenue of $6.3 billion, a 13% decline from the previous year.

Not only is that the first year-over-year revenue decline in Premier League history, but a cumulative pre-tax loss of $1.4 billion represents the largest in Premier League history also.

Cumulative Pre-Tax Loss

  • 2018-19: $281 million loss

  • 2019-20: $1.4 billion loss

For the non-mathematicians at home, that’s almost a 5x greater loss than the prior year and was driven predominantly by the “absence of fans, postponement of matches, and rebates to broadcasters.”

The worst part about this report? Even with COVID-19 restrictions ending and fans starting to return to stadiums worldwide, most of the following Premier League season was also played behind closed doors.

Here’s what Deloitte’s Dan Jones said about the revenue decline:

"The decrease in revenue in the 2019-20 season is, unsurprisingly, down to the global economic and social disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and will continue to have a heavy impact on the 2020-21 season's financial results when available.

The absence of fans, postponement of matches and rebates to broadcasters had a significant impact on the revenue clubs have been able to generate.

The full financial impact of the pandemic on the Premier League will depend on the timing of the return of fans to stadiums in significant numbers and the ability of clubs to maintain and develop their commercial relationships, in particular at a time when many other industries are suffering.

Matchday operations are a cornerstone of a club's business model and fans' absence will be more fully reflected in the financial results of the 2020-21 financial year.

For a look at year-over-year club finances, here’s an interesting chart from The Athletic. Given the numbers are pulled from two different sources — Deloitte (above) & The Athletic (below) — the estimates are rough, but you get the point, they declined.

Outside of non-existent ticket, merchandise, and concession revenue, most of the decline came from broadcasting agreements. Last year, Premier League clubs were notified that they would lose a minimum of $460 million to broadcasters for missed games — about $310 million to domestic broadcasters and $150 million to international broadcast partners.

Luckily, they were able to finish out the season behind closed doors. If they hadn’t, then a total of around $1 billion would have been due back to domestic and international broadcast partners. That was the worst-case scenario.

The good news? Revenue numbers in 2021 might still be rough, but as fans start to return in full, Premier League clubs are well-positioned to again return to the record revenue levels they saw pre-pandemic.

Have a great day, and I’ll talk to everyone tomorrow.

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