SPFL announce record £30million annual fees paid to clubs

The figure of £29.7million to the 42 clubs in season 2021-22 was up five per cent from the previous campaign

Published 29th Sep 2022

The SPFL has announced record annual fees to clubs totalling almost £30million.

The figure of £29.7million to the 42 clubs in season 2021-22 was up five per cent from the previous campaign.

Clubs also shared prize money and television payments from the Premier Sports Cup totalling £2.8million, which was up nine per cent.

The news comes two days after the league announced a four-year extension to its television contract with Sky Sports that would take the broadcast rights through to 2029. It is believed the annual income from the deal will rise from £25million to close to £30million once the new deal kicks in.

The league was recently challenged to raise central income payments to £50million by 2029 after an action plan emerged from an independent review of Scottish football's finances by Deloitte, who were commissioned by Aberdeen, Hibernian, Hearts, Dundee and Dundee United.

The SPFL's annual financial results show a record turnover of £39.5milion, which was up seven per cent from the previous season.

The league said that overseas income was up five per cent and staff costs were down six per cent.

Chief executive Neil Doncaster said: "These record results are extremely encouraging for our game and reflect the positive impact of the cinch title sponsorship, the largest single sponsorship deal in the history of the league, and the ongoing support that we continue to enjoy from Sky Sports and our other broadcast partners.

"It's also important to recognise the outstanding commitment of our small team at the SPFL, which works tirelessly on behalf of our 42 member clubs, and deserves huge credit for the way league operations continued through the pandemic.

"With two of our clubs in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the first time since season 2007/08, and on the back of our recently-announced long-term contract with Sky Sports, the SPFL can look forward with real confidence to the years ahead."

Chairman Murdoch MacLennan added: "It's to the enormous credit of Neil and his management team that they have delivered the strongest set of financial results in the 132-year history of the league.

"These results, of course, reflect the resilience and performance of the 42 member clubs of the SPFL - and their hugely committed fans - in ensuring that the SPFL remains the most dramatic, passionate, and exciting league in European football."

Meanwhile, Calum Beattie has been promoted from company secretary to chief operating officer, where he will report to Doncaster.