Of the 116 clubs in the top five tiers of English football, only seven made a profit last season.
For the first time, the industry’s total revenue topped £9 billion. In that same year, it lost £1.7 billion.
A lot of people think small clubs go broke because they’re poor. That’s not it at all. The money is coming in—more than ever before—and wages are swallowing it whole. Twenty clubs spend more than 80% of their income on player wages. Six spend more than they earn all year. Across League One, League Two and the National League, the average is 84%. That’s some nerve.
Go one level down and it gets even scarier. Twenty-nine percent of clubs wouldn’t survive a month without their owners putting money in. No one knows how long they could last. Sixty-six percent wouldn’t make it past three months. And 17 clubs are still losing money just to maintain their grounds and pay their staff, even if the players worked for free. There’s no way to make that work.
The richest end isn’t doing so well either. In the Premier League’s first season as a standalone league, the top flight’s average revenue was less than three times the Championship’s. By last season, that multiple had risen to 8.7. Six big clubs take 56% of Premier League revenue, leaving the other 14 to split 44%.
Clubs lower down the pyramid have to borrow just to try to climb up. For every pound a League One club earns, it has to find another 72 pence from outside. For a Championship club, it’s 57 pence; for a Premier League club, 33 pence. At least they can still borrow.
Where does the money come from? Sixty-seven clubs ask their owners for money at least six times a year; 28 have asked more than 12 times. Transfer fees can be sold in advance, too: clubs use money they haven’t received yet as collateral to get cash now. There’s £1.2 billion in these receivables already pledged. The interest rates are a good bit higher than on bank loans, yet more and more clubs are doing it.
That shirt you bought, that season ticket, that beer at the stadium—that’s the last cash left on the club’s books. Fans are the only group willingly paying for the losses, and they’re pretty happy about it. That’s the strange part.
Over the past five years, 78 acquisitions in English football have changed hands for a total of £7.2 billion. Buyers have already lost more than 40% of their investment on paper. Money keeps pouring in, and each new buyer pays more than the last.
I’ve been thinking: the queue of creditors is already at the end. Owners, factoring firms, private credit—each one costs more than the last. Beyond them, there’s nothing.
On-chain, it’s the same business: sell money you haven’t received yet at a discount. The only difference is that the books are open for everyone to see. But what’s actually working right now is the easiest stuff to sell, like stablecoins and government bonds. No one’s buying a football club’s receivables. To do this deal, you first have to answer one question: will the owner still send money next month? Who’d dare give you an answer?
The 116 clubs’ total debt was £2.8 billion five years ago. Now it’s £4.1 billion, and it’s forecast to hit £5.1 billion next year. Still climbing.
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#英超 #英格兰足球 #球迷经济 #稳定币 #体育
For the first time, the industry’s total revenue topped £9 billion. In that same year, it lost £1.7 billion.
A lot of people think small clubs go broke because they’re poor. That’s not it at all. The money is coming in—more than ever before—and wages are swallowing it whole. Twenty clubs spend more than 80% of their income on player wages. Six spend more than they earn all year. Across League One, League Two and the National League, the average is 84%. That’s some nerve.
Go one level down and it gets even scarier. Twenty-nine percent of clubs wouldn’t survive a month without their owners putting money in. No one knows how long they could last. Sixty-six percent wouldn’t make it past three months. And 17 clubs are still losing money just to maintain their grounds and pay their staff, even if the players worked for free. There’s no way to make that work.
The richest end isn’t doing so well either. In the Premier League’s first season as a standalone league, the top flight’s average revenue was less than three times the Championship’s. By last season, that multiple had risen to 8.7. Six big clubs take 56% of Premier League revenue, leaving the other 14 to split 44%.
Clubs lower down the pyramid have to borrow just to try to climb up. For every pound a League One club earns, it has to find another 72 pence from outside. For a Championship club, it’s 57 pence; for a Premier League club, 33 pence. At least they can still borrow.
Where does the money come from? Sixty-seven clubs ask their owners for money at least six times a year; 28 have asked more than 12 times. Transfer fees can be sold in advance, too: clubs use money they haven’t received yet as collateral to get cash now. There’s £1.2 billion in these receivables already pledged. The interest rates are a good bit higher than on bank loans, yet more and more clubs are doing it.
That shirt you bought, that season ticket, that beer at the stadium—that’s the last cash left on the club’s books. Fans are the only group willingly paying for the losses, and they’re pretty happy about it. That’s the strange part.
Over the past five years, 78 acquisitions in English football have changed hands for a total of £7.2 billion. Buyers have already lost more than 40% of their investment on paper. Money keeps pouring in, and each new buyer pays more than the last.
I’ve been thinking: the queue of creditors is already at the end. Owners, factoring firms, private credit—each one costs more than the last. Beyond them, there’s nothing.
On-chain, it’s the same business: sell money you haven’t received yet at a discount. The only difference is that the books are open for everyone to see. But what’s actually working right now is the easiest stuff to sell, like stablecoins and government bonds. No one’s buying a football club’s receivables. To do this deal, you first have to answer one question: will the owner still send money next month? Who’d dare give you an answer?
The 116 clubs’ total debt was £2.8 billion five years ago. Now it’s £4.1 billion, and it’s forecast to hit £5.1 billion next year. Still climbing.
$CHZ $USDC $BTC
#英超 #英格兰足球 #球迷经济 #稳定币 #体育