The Premier League saw its clubs lose a combined $1.2 billion in the 2020-21 season — which represents an improvement from last year’s results.

The heavy losses were spearheaded by the Premier League’s “Big Six” clubs: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United, Liverpool, Manchester City, and Tottenham. The top-flight clubs reported a combined loss of $816 million — roughly 63% of the league’s total losses.

For the 2019-20 season, losses amounted to $1.6 billion — the highest since 2009. 

• Combined revenue for the Premier League’s 20 clubs reached $5.8 billion in 2020-21.
• About $4 billion of that revenue came from media rights deals.
• It reported $36 million in matchday revenue, compared to a potential $829 million.
• Matchday revenue suffered from restrictions on fan attendance. 

Leading the Premier League in losses for the 2020-21 season was Chelsea, a club that will look to rebound under new ownership. The Blues suffered a loss of $244 million during a season that saw the club finish fourth in the Premier League standings. 

In May, a consortium led by Los Angeles Dodgers, Lakers, and Sparks owner Todd Boehly purchased Chelsea for $5.2 billion — the largest sale ever for a professional sports team ever. 

It also marked the first time that more than half of the Premier League’s clubs were under American ownership. 

Another Loss

The Premier League has asked its clubs to agree to a voluntary ban on new gambling sponsorship deals on shirts. For the 2020-21 season, 10 clubs had gambling company sponsors.

Commissioners throughout professional sports took pay cuts during the pandemic, but some were handsomely rewarded as their overall compensation reached new heights. 

The executives have benefited from an influx of bonuses, incentives, and benefits packages. 

In 2020, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell took a significant pay cut amid financial uncertainty due to the pandemic. Goodell, who became commissioner in 2006, had a salary of $0 in 2020. 

Yet the 63-year-old still pocketed $63.9 million that year from bonuses and other benefits. 

Between 2019 and 2020, Goodell made $128 million. The earnings were fueled by the NFL’s $113 billion in media deals with CBS, NBC, Disney, Fox, and Amazon. 

Goodell also benefited from a new collective bargaining agreement approved in 2020. 

• PGA commissioner Jay Monahan also didn’t take a salary in 2020.
• But he still earned $14.1 million in 2020 — Monahan’s largest compensation package to date. 

The PGA also awarded its staff — including executives —  $130.5 million in 2020, up from $123.3 million a year prior. 

Leading the Pack 

Goodell stands to increase his earning potential with the recent financial success of America’s most popular professional sports league. 

The NFL reportedly generated $11.1 billion in revenue during the 2021 season, totaling $343.75 million in revenue for each of the league’s 32 franchises. The results represented a 12% increase compared to the 2020 season thanks to a 23% increase in sponsorship revenue.

The league hopes to boost its revenue to $25 billion annually by 2027.

The United Soccer League is picking up steam.

The soccer body, which is sanctioned by the U.S. Soccer, announced that it has entered an exclusive agreement with USL NOLA, a group aiming to bring professional soccer to New Orleans, with the intent of launching a USL Championship men’s team by 2025.

• The agreement also aims to launch a team for the USL Super League — a Division II women’s competition slated to begin play in 2023.
• USL NOLA is led by Warren Smith, who led Sacramento Republic FC’s and San Diego Loyal SC’s launches and first seasons, and Jamie Guin, who has worked on projects for Sporting Kansas City, LAFC, and Columbus Crew.

On the West Coast, USL League One — run by USL as a Division III league — introduced  Santa Barbara Sky FC as its newest expansion club on Tuesday. 

The team, which is led by former Liverpool FC CEO Peter Moore, will begin play in 2024. Details regarding the club’s women’s team have yet to be announced.

Popularity Points

In 2019, ESPN extended its three-year deal — reportedly “in the low seven-figure range” — to broadcast the second and third tiers, tripling the number of USL games aired previously.

The USL Championship — one division under MLS — and its union struck its first collective bargaining agreement last year. The five-year CBA guarantees players $2,700 per month with raises in future years.

Star athletes including Marshawn Lynch, Landon Donovan, Tim Howard, and DaMarcus Beasley have all invested in USL clubs.

Viaplay Group is in negotiations to acquire Ireland-based pay-TV channel Premier Sports, according to Bloomberg. 

Premier Sports, which also operates in the U.K., would allow the Stockholm-based streaming company to expand its reach ahead of its launch in the region later this year. 

• Viaplay hopes to reach an agreement with Premier Sports by the end of 2022.
• Premier Sports holds media rights to La Liga and UEFA Nations League.
• The channel is available on Virgin Media, British broadcaster Sky, and its app.
• Viaplay currently has a market value of roughly $1.7 billion. 

A deal for Premier Sports would add to Viaplay’s growing portfolio of live sports rights. 

In 2020, the company secured exclusive rights to the Premier League in a six-year deal from the 2022-23 season through 2028. The agreement allows Viaplay — previously known as Nordic Entertainment Group — to air matches in Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden. 

Viaplay supplemented the deal with a distribution pact with Norwegian pay-TV operator RiksTV. 

The pact, which ends in 2023, allows RiksTV users to watch all 380 Premier League matches per season.  

Under Watch 

Viaplay’s potential expansion in the U.K. could lead to scrutiny by British regulators.

The Competition and Markets Authority — a U.K. antitrust watchdog — is investigating a group of Britain’s top sports broadcasters regarding the purchase of freelance services. 

The group includes BT Group, IMG Media, Sky UK Limited, and ITV.

The CMA believes the broadcasters engaged in potential “cartel-like behavior.”