Premier League big six could share £45m jackpot as part of deal over overseas TV rights
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THE Big Six could share a £45million jackpot as part of a compromise deal over overseas TV rights.
Premier League chief Richard Scudamore is pushing the deal which he hopes will buy off the Manchester clubs, Spurs, Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea — and also be acceptable to the majority of the other 14 clubs.
Ahead of today’s AGM of the 20 clubs in Harrogate, Liverpool owner John Henry branded the current equal split unacceptable.
The Big Six were thwarted in their demands for 35 per cent of the overseas pot — worth £40.8m per club last term.
They wanted it allocated on league position when they tabled a rule change in October. But Scudamore’s proposal, which is believed to be likely to pass, will see a change in the split.
Under the new plan, the champions will bank an additional £10m on top of the equal split.
The runners-up are set to earn an extra £9m, third place £8m and so on, with the tenth-placed club banking £1m. Assuming the Big Six finish in the top-six league positions, they will get their hands on the extra £45m, with £55m up for grabs in total.
That money will be taken away from the clubs finishing 12th to 20th.
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Prem regulations mean at least 14 clubs must back a proposal for the rules to be altered and, in October, the six were only backed by Everton, West Ham and Leicester.
Scudamore feels the issue needs to be settled one way or the other and is determined to either reach a deal or end the discussion for a number of years.
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The 20 clubs will also discuss safe standing, while there are calls to end “double representation”, when an agent works for one club and the player in the same deal.
Meanwhile, Prem clubs are set to break through the £5BILLION earnings barrier next season.
The latest annual review of football finance by Deloitte found that the 20 clubs all posted an operating profit for the first time in 2016-17.
Report author Dan Jones said: “These figures are resilient and will continue.
“It is not a case of boom and bust.”
Deloitte’s 2016-17 figures saw England’s top-flight clubs having revenues of £4.63bn, nearly double the £2.49bn for Spain’s La Liga.