Arsenal the first club to earn over £100m in a season from Premier League
Wednesday 25 May 2016 12:27, UK
Arsenal were the biggest earners from the Premier League last season, according to official figures.
Arsene Wenger's side missed the opportunity to secure their first title since 2004 and finished second to rank outsiders Leicester, but their haul of £100,952,257 made them the first club in history to receive more than £100m from the Premier League.
Leicester's fairy tale campaign saw them finish 10 points clear at the top of the table but the new champions earned less than all the other top five clubs, with Tottenham, Manchester City and Manchester United also all earning more money than the Foxes.
Claudio Ranieri's side earned £93,219,598, including just over £24.8m in prize money for winning the title, but almost £9m less than Arsenal in "facility fees" as only 15 of their matches featured live on television, 12 fewer than the Gunners.
Leicester's total, however, amounts to £21.6m more than they earned for the 2014-15 season when they finished 14th.
Tottenham also pipped the champions, earning a total of £95,222,320, although their final-day capitulation to Arsenal cost them an extra £1.2m they would have made for coming second.
Manchester City earned just under £97m and Manchester United only slightly less with a little over £96.4m. Bottom-placed Aston Villa still took £66.6m.
The rules of the 2015-16 season mean that 50 per cent of UK broadcast revenue was split equally, ensuring the 20 clubs banked £21.9m each.
Overseas television revenue and central commercial revenue were also divided across the teams, paying out another £29.4m and £4.5m respectively to every top-flight club.
Teams then received different 'merit payments' depending on their placing - spanning from £24,848,100 for Leicester to £1,242,405 for Villa - and 'facility fees', which is dictated by the number of times they appeared live on television.
Leicester are also predicted to pick up an extra £50m from playing in the Champions League next season.
