Enhanced deals with broadcasters and sponsors enabled the Scottish Professional Football League (SPFL) to make record payments to its clubs in the last year.
Its latest annual accounts confirm total group distributions increased by £7.6m (18%) to £49.6m – by far the highest figure in the league’s history.
SPFL group income totalled £58m, whilst fees paid to clubs by the SPFL also increased by £6m or 17% to £41.2m.
The SPFL group is aiming for £50m in distributions to clubs by 2029, following an independent strategic review by Deloitte’s Sports Business Group in 2021, to support the commercial growth of Scottish football.
The latest increase has been driven by several factors, including additional broadcast income, which includes the SPFL’s contracts with Sky Sports and Premier Sports for live William Hill Premiership matches until 2029, and an enhanced deal with Premier Sports for the broadcast and sponsorship of the Premier Sports Cup until at least 2031.
This was further supplemented by strong growth in other commercial areas. As well as broadcast rights, the SPFL receives income from licensing, match data and sponsorship, including the record-breaking title sponsorship deal with leading UK bookmaker, William Hill.
During the financial year, the SPFL welcomed HALO as its first ever official technology partner, and the SPFL Trust charity as its first official community partner.
KDM Group also continued its title sponsorship of the KDM Evolution Trophy, where the number of minutes played by Scottish eligible under 21 players increased fourfold following innovative changes to the competition format.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive, said: “In an increasingly competitive international rights market, these results are testament to the enduring attraction of the SPFL.
“These are by far the strongest financial results in the SPFL’s history, with turnover and total group distributions both surpassing the records set last year, and we are determined to maintain that momentum.
“Thanks to a great deal of hard work by clubs and individuals right across the SPFL, we’ve made substantial progress towards our £50 million strategic target for club distributions.
“Crucially, as well as record-breaking commercial income, our member clubs have also welcomed the highest yearly attendances in the SPFL era, following one of the most exciting seasons Scottish football has ever experienced.
“That drama and energy has been reflected in the level of interest we’ve seen from our broadcast and commercial partners, in a season that saw a record-breaking number of games broadcast live.
“Successfully balancing broadcast revenue with match-day attendances and the unique atmosphere created within packed stadia is central to the SPFL being recognised widely as one of the most intense, compelling, and emotive sporting competitions in the world.”
SPFL chairman Murdoch MacLennan said: “These latest accounts are extremely encouraging and a real credit to the partnerships between the small, dedicated staff at the SPFL and our member clubs.
“These record-breaking figures demonstrate Scottish football’s incredible popularity, and we believe that by working closely with the 42 SPFL clubs across all four divisions, we can deliver our aim to achieve £50m of distributions to members this season – which would be two years ahead of the ambitious target we set ourselves four years ago.”
Group distributions comprise fees paid to clubs through the ladder system (which gives a fixed percentage of fees based on where each club finishes in the league), parachute payments, money paid to ScottishPower Women’s Premier League clubs, prize money in the Premier Sports Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy, and facility fees paid in respect of William Hill Premiership matches shown on Premier Sports.
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