English champion Chelsea received a record Premier League payout of more than 150 million pounds ($190 million, 172 million euros) this season, nearly 60 million pounds more than their predecessor Leicester, after new TV deals came into force. The broadcast deals, including a bumper domestic contract, ensured generous end-of-season payments for all 20 Premier League clubs that shared 2.4 billion pounds. Figures on the league's website showed Leicester, which earned 93 million pounds after their stunning title success last year, received 116 million pounds this season, when they finished 12th.
Second-place Tottenham Hotspurs earned about 145 million pounds, slightly less than Manchester City and Liverpool owing to the difference in their "facility fees," awarded for appearances on TV. Domestic rights to broadcast the Premier League were sold for 5.1 billion pounds over three seasons, dwarfing the previous deal.
The league shares money from its central commercial deals and overseas broadcast rights on an equal basis, which means all 20 clubs got nearly 5 million pounds each for the former and 39 million pounds for the latter. Even the three clubs that were relegated leave with large payments, including bottom-placed Sunderland, which received just over 93 million pounds.
The Premier League also paid out nearly 220 million pounds in "parachute payments" to eight teams relegated in recent seasons: Aston Villa, Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Wigan. Villa, Newcastle and Norwich, which were relegated last year, got almost 41 million pounds each, QPR 31 million pounds and the other four more than 16 million pounds.
Overall, the ratio between the highest and the lowest earning clubs in the Premier League was 1.61 to 1, the lowest among Europe's top leagues. The Premier League's appeal to broadcasters at home and abroad also permitted it to increase the money it distributes to grassroots facilities and projects. In the last financial year, the league spent 200 million pounds in this area, about seven percent of its total broadcast income.
