Everton share of ‘extraordinary’ £10.4bn at risk ahead of Premier League spend ‘like no other’
Relegation from the Premier League will cause Everton to miss out on a share of the “extraordinary” £10.4billion media rights due next season.
The figure is driven by major increase in the revenue from overseas rights which The Times projects will combine with the changing rules around the number of players each club is permitted to have on loan, and the effects of Brexit, to contribute to a spending spree “like no other”.
The report says: “Conditions set to influence the window include the Premier League’s extraordinary new broadcast deal, in which a boom in overseas rights means clubs are guaranteed to share £10.4 billion.
“It kicks in this summer, and from 2022-23, the prize money ranges from £176 million for the champions to £106 million for the club finishing bottom.
“Historically, the outlay on players has moved in line with television income and if the Premier League follows its pattern of the past nine years, of between 13 and 18 per cent of clubs’ total revenue going back out in player deals, the net transfer spend in 2022-23 could break £1 billion for the first time.”
Cliff edge
Frank Lampard’s side are currently three points above the relegation places in 17th.
The club face dropping out of the Premier League for the first time in their history, just at the time when the already-sky-high broadcast revenue is set to grow further.
The financial troubles at Goodison Park are well documented, with heavy spending under Farhad Moshiri not yielding returns on the pitch.
The Toffees also moved to sever ties with key sponsor, and friend of the owner, Alisher Usmanov, after the Russian billionaire was sanctioned following the invasion of Ukraine.
The Daily Mail had suggested earlier this month they were facing a points deduction for the losses built up over recent years.
Simon Jordan subsequently argued on talkSPORT they would be saved from that, just, by accounting allowances in light of Covid-19 and the new stadium development.
Relegation would be catastrophic at any time, but for a club already in a mess financially it is doubly so.
If Lampard can keep his side in the top flight they can ease some of that burden.
Even in that event it won’t be plain sailing, as they surely wouldn’t be able to jump into the transfers free-for-all that is being predicted.
And with the likes of Manchester United in for Richarlison (Goal), and Arsenal for Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Daily Star) they could be powerless to resist losing star players.
But considering how they have performed this year, that might not be the worst thing.
The club are on the edge of a cliff, and the benefits to avoiding falling over the edge are even higher than normal.
In other Everton news, one Toffee shone on international duty and has been backed in his rivalry with a Premier League challenger.
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