It is the time in the season to start thinking about Premier League prize money. Arsenal missed out on not only the title but a record payout last campaign.
Premier League clubs received a total of £2.84billion last season, which was comprised of six payments through the division’s ‘central revenue system’, something the Premier League says ‘ensures the most equitable distribution of funds of any major European league’.
Manchester City were paid £175.9m as champions – just short of their own record £176.2m in 2022/23 – while runners-up Arsenal benefited from having the most games televised and were given £175.5m. They would have broken the record had they won the title.
Sheffield United received £109.7m for their efforts in finishing a distant bottom. It pays to be in the Premier League.
Some of those payments are fixed. All 20 clubs automatically receive around £95m through an equal share distributed based on both the domestic (£31.2m in 2023/24) and international (£55.7m in 2023/24) broadcast deals – those TV rights are lucrative for a reason – as well as £8.2m each from central commercial revenue streams.
The rest is variable, based on where clubs finish and how often their games are selected for broadcast.
How much is each Premier League place worth?
The Premier League merit payments are distributed on a sliding scale from 1st to 20th, made up of combined earnings from domestic and international broadcast deals.
For the 2023/24 season, the difference in prize money was around £2.8m per position. Sheffield United were awarded as much for finishing bottom, all the way up to champions Manchester City receiving £56.4m. It basically helped pay for 95.6% of Omar Marmoush.
That can be expected to fluctuate with inflation and other factors – it was £3.1m per position in 2022/23 – but it offers a rough guide as to what clubs should expect to earn this season.
What Premier League clubs will earn based on their position this season
The following is a breakdown of how much prize money each finish is worth, with the team currently occupying that place in the Premier League table brackets.
1st (Liverpool) – £56.4m
2nd (Arsenal) – £53.5m
3rd (Manchester City) – £50.7m
4th (Newcastle) – £47.9m
5th (Chelsea) – £45.1m
6th (Nottingham Forest) – £42.2m
7th (Aston Villa) – £39.4m
8th (Bournemouth) – £36.7m
9th (Brentford) – £33.8m
10th (Brighton) – £31m
11th (Fulham) – £28.2m
12th (Crystal Palace) – £25.4m
13th (Wolves) – £22.5m
14th (Everton) – £19.7m
15th (Manchester United) – £16.9m
16th (Spurs) – £14m
17th (West Ham) – £11.3m
18th (Ipswich) – £8.5m
19th (Leicester) – £5.7m
20th (Southampton) – £2.8m
Where each Premier League club can still finish
Every club has played 34 or 35 games so far this season, and all but champions Liverpool and doomed Southampton can still mathematically finish in a range of different positions with varying prize money attached.
The following is a breakdown of what each club is still competing to earn this season beyond European qualification or survival, based on their possible league finishes.
Liverpool – 1st (£56.4m)
Arsenal – 2nd (£53.5m) to 7th (£39.4m)
Manchester City – 2nd (£53.5m) to 7th (£39.4m)
Newcastle – 2nd (£53.5m) to 7th (£39.4m)
Chelsea – 2nd (£53.5m) to 7th (£39.4m)
Nottingham Forest – 2nd (£53.5m) to 11th (£28.2m)
Aston Villa – 2nd (£53.5m) to 11th (£28.2m)
Bournemouth – 6th (£42.2m) to 12th (£25.4m)
Brentford – 6th (£42.2m) to 12th (£25.4m)
Brighton – 6th (£42.2m) to 12th (£25.4m)
Fulham – 6th (£42.2m) to 12th (£25.4m)
Crystal Palace – 8th (£36.7m) to 17th (£11.3m)
Wolves – 12th (£25.4m) to 17th (£11.3m)
Everton – 12th (£25.4m) to 17th (£11.3m)
Manchester United – 12th (£25.4m) to 17th (£11.3m)
Spurs – 12th (£25.4m) to 17th (£11.3m)
West Ham – 12th (£25.4m) to 17th (£11.3m)
Ipswich – 18th (£8.5m) to 19th (£5.7m)
Leicester – 18th (£8.5m) to 19th (£5.7m)
Southampton – 20th (£2.8m)
What are facility fees?
The only other part of the prize money which is not fixed and shared equally are the facility fees, which are based on how many times each club has been selected for television.
In 2023/24, Arsenal had 31 games televised in the UK, for which they received £26.9m in facility fees. Liverpool had 29 matches and were paid £25.2m, while Manchester City, Manchester United and Spurs (all 28 games) were given £24.4m each.
4th=) Aston Villa, Chelsea, Manchester City and Newcastle (25 games each) – worth around £21.9m
8th) Spurs (23 games) – worth around £20.2m
9th) Nottingham Forest (21 games) – worth around £18.5m
10th) West Ham (18 games) – worth around £16m
11th=) Crystal Palace and Bournemouth (17 games each) – worth around £15.2m
13th=) Brighton and Everton (16 games each) – worth around £14.3m
15th=) Brentford and Wolves (15 games each) – worth around £13.5m
17th=) Fulham and Leicester (14 games each) – worth around £12.2m
19th) Southampton (11 games) – worth around £10.1m
20th) Ipswich (10 games) – worth around £9.3m
How much prize money will each Premier League team be paid in 2024/25?
While it will vary due to inflation, fluctuating operating costs and other mitigating factors, it is possible to estimate how much total prize money each Premier League team will be paid in 2024/25 – before the last round of TV games are announced and with final positions obviously yet to be determined – based on their current placement and the payments made in 2023/24.
1) Liverpool – £176.6m
2) Arsenal – £173.7m
3) Manchester City – £167.6m
4) Newcastle – £164.8m
5) Chelsea – £162m
6) Aston Villa – £156.3m
7) Nottingham Forest – £155.7m
8) Bournemouth – £146.9m
9) Brentford – £142.3m
10) Brighton – £140.3m
11) Crystal Palace – £135.6m
12) Manchester United – £135.5m
13) Fulham – £135.4m
14) Wolves – £131m
15) Spurs – £129.2m
16) Everton – £129m
17) West Ham – £122.3m
18) Leicester – £112.9m
19) Ipswich – £112.8m
20) Southampton – £107.9m
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