Apart from finishing in the European places or outside the relegation zone, Premier League fans may not need to care about where their side ends up in the final table.
But with millions on the line for each place the further you climb the table, those running the clubs will be hoping for a strong finish come the final round of fixtures this Sunday.
Only Manchester City, Arsenal, Liverpool, Brighton & Hove Albion, Fulham and Southampton have guaranteed their final positions so, apart from pride, the other 14 teams have something to play for.
While a few million here or there may not seem like much in an age when Chelsea spend £280million ($346m) in a transfer window or newly promoted Nottingham Forest spend £152million on their first summer back in the top flight, with many clubs. still reporting post-COVID-19 losses every bit helps.
Here, The Athletic see how much each Premier League finishing position is worth, and why the latest broadcast deal has made such a difference…
How much is each position worth?
The Premier League does not release official figures on how much clubs earn from their ‘central payments’ until the end of the season. Last year, it happened on July 1, more than a month after the 2021-22 campaign ended on May 22.
The ‘central payment’ actually means what the league pays the clubs from broadcast and commercial revenue.
Each club gets the same amount from the commercial revenue stream, and last season it came to £6.8 million per team.
The clubs also get a set amount from the domestic broadcast deal and the international broadcast agreements that the Premier League has (regardless of where they finish in the table), but it is important that a not small part of equal revenue streams are allocated based on teams. ‘ last position – this is known as ‘merit payments’.
Based on the numbers provided by the Premier League last year, we can determine what clubs can expect to receive based on their position at the end of this season. However, it is important to remember that this calculation is not definitive and there are factors – such as inflation, fluctuating operating costs and parachute payments – that are likely to slightly affect the final numbers.
If we assume that the league’s operating costs remain the same from last season to this year, we can estimate the expected revenue of the clubs – given what we know about domestic and international broadcast deals .
Estimated PL Merit Fees for 2022-23
POS | It is. UK Merit | It is. International Merit | East. Total Merit |
---|---|---|---|
1 |
£33,779,160 |
£40,698,573 |
£74,477,733 |
2 |
£32,090,202 |
£38,663,645 |
£70,753,847 |
3 |
£30,401,244 |
£36,628,716 |
£67,029,960 |
4 |
£28,712,286 |
£34,593,787 |
£63,306,073 |
5 |
£27,023,328 |
£32,558,859 |
£59,582,187 |
6 |
£25,334,370 |
£30,523,930 |
£55,858,300 |
7 |
£23,645,412 |
£28,489,001 |
£52,134,413 |
8 |
£21,956,454 |
£26,454,073 |
£48,410,527 |
9 |
£20,267,496 |
£24,419,144 |
£44,686,640 |
10 |
£18,578,538 |
£22,384,215 |
£40,962,753 |
11 |
£16,889,580 |
£20,349,287 |
£37,238,867 |
12 |
£15,200,622 |
£18,314,358 |
£33,514,980 |
13 |
£13,511,664 |
£16,279,429 |
£29,791,093 |
14 |
£11,822,706 |
£14,244,501 |
£26,067,207 |
15 |
£10,133,748 |
£12,209,572 |
£22,343,320 |
16 |
£8,444,790 |
£10,174,643 |
£18,619,433 |
17 |
£6,755,832 |
£8,139,715 |
£14,895,547 |
18 |
£5,066,874 |
£6,104,786 |
£11,171,660 |
19 |
£3,377,916 |
£4,069,857 |
£7,447,773 |
20 |
£1,688,958 |
£2,034,929 |
£3,723,887 |
How do these compare to last year’s numbers?
Last year’s total merit pay per club was lower than this year’s.
Bottom side Norwich City took just over £2million from their total merit pay. In contrast, Southampton stand to pocket more than £3.7 million.
And that has a big impact on the table, too. Manchester City won both this year’s and last year’s titles but their total merit pay has risen by £33million.
PL Merit Fees for 2021-22
POS | Team | UK Merit | International Merit | Total Merit | Add to 22-23 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 |
£33,779,160 |
£7,365,240 |
£41,144,400 |
£33,333,333 |
|
2 |
£32,090,202 |
£6,996,978 |
£39,087,180 |
£31,666,667 |
|
3 |
£30,401,244 |
£6,628,716 |
£37,029,960 |
£30,000,000 |
|
4 |
£28,712,286 |
£6,260,454 |
£34,972,740 |
£28,333,333 |
|
5 |
£27,023,328 |
£5,892,192 |
£32,915,520 |
£26,666,667 |
|
6 |
£25,334,370 |
£5,523,930 |
£30,858,300 |
£25,000,000 |
|
7 |
£23,645,412 |
£5,155,668 |
£28,801,080 |
£23,333,333 |
|
8 |
£21,956,454 |
£4,787,406 |
£26,743,860 |
£21,666,667 |
|
9 |
£20,267,496 |
£4,419,144 |
£24,686,640 |
£20,000,000 |
|
10 |
£18,578,538 |
£4,050,882 |
£22,629,420 |
£18,333,333 |
|
11 |
£16,889,580 |
£3,682,620 |
£20,572,200 |
£16,666,667 |
|
12 |
£15,200,622 |
£3,314,358 |
£18,514,980 |
£15,000,000 |
|
13 |
£13,511,664 |
£2,946,096 |
£16,457,760 |
£13,333,333 |
|
14 |
£11,822,706 |
£2,577,834 |
£14,400,540 |
£11,666,667 |
|
15 |
£10,133,748 |
£2,209,572 |
£12,343,320 |
£10,000,000 |
|
16 |
£8,444,790 |
£1,841,310 |
£10,286,100 |
£8,333,333 |
|
17 |
£6,755,832 |
£1,473,048 |
£8,228,880 |
£6,666,667 |
|
18 |
£5,066,874 |
£1,104,786 |
£6,171,660 |
£5,000,000 |
|
19 |
£3,377,916 |
£736,524 |
£4,114,440 |
£3,333,333 |
|
20 |
£1,688,958 |
£368,262 |
£2,057,220 |
£1,666,667 |
Why did it go up so much?
The increase in the Premier League’s international broadcast deal is the reason for the huge increase in merit payments.
From 2019 to 2022, the international deal is worth £ 4 billion, less than the domestic agreement which stands at £ 5 billion.
However, while the league has agreed to roll over the current domestic deal for another three years, the international deal has increased to £5.05billion for the 2022 to 2025 season – meaning it is ahead of the domestic number for the first time.
And, as per the Premier League’s website and rules, any additional revenue generated by the new broadcast deals will be added to the merit payments, keeping the same ratio so that all clubs benefit proportionally .
Where can I find out more?
(Image: Getty Images)