Premier League’s Biggest Clubs Draw Line Over Huge Commercial Revenue Plan

The Premier League’s financial future is becoming the latest battleground between its richest clubs and the rest of the division.

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are reportedly opposing plans to pool more commercial rights across all 20 clubs — a proposal that could dramatically increase the league’s collective sponsorship revenue.

The Premier League believes expanding the amount of commercial inventory sold centrally could take annual commercial income from around £200 million to as much as £750 million.

But the clubs generating some of the biggest individual commercial revenues do not want to give up greater control of their own assets.

What Is the Premier League Proposing?

The central idea is to give the Premier League access to a larger pool of commercial assets that are currently controlled by individual clubs.

One of the main areas being considered is stadium perimeter advertising, including LED boards around pitches.

At present, some perimeter advertising is sold collectively, while clubs retain control over much of the inventory inside their own stadiums.

The league believes combining more of those rights would make its commercial offering more attractive to major global brands and create significantly greater revenue for the competition as a whole.

The modelling suggests the potential increase could be enormous — from approximately £200m a year to £750m.

That is the figure at the centre of the disagreement.

Why Are the Big Six Against It?

The argument is essentially about control and distribution.

The biggest clubs already have enormous global audiences and powerful individual commercial operations. They believe selling more of their commercial inventory collectively could restrict their ability to negotiate lucrative deals independently.

Manchester United, in particular, are reportedly concerned that greater centralisation could limit their ambitions to grow their own revenue.

The same issue affects the other five clubs in the traditional Big Six: Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham.

These clubs would also want a larger share of any additional money generated through a centralised model because they believe their commercial strength gives them greater value to sponsors.

That creates the fundamental problem.

The league wants to maximise the collective value of the Premier League brand, while its biggest clubs believe their individual brands should give them greater freedom — and potentially a greater financial return.

The Revenue Gap Makes the Dispute More Significant

The disagreement comes as the financial gap between the Premier League's biggest clubs and the rest continues to attract attention.

The league's most recently published central payments showed that commercial income was around £158m in 2024/25, with each club receiving an equal share of that commercial pot.

That figure is expected to have risen to around £200m for 2025/26.

Under the proposed expansion, the collective commercial pot could therefore become a much more important part of the Premier League's financial structure.

For smaller clubs, that could represent a significant opportunity.

For the Big Six, however, the concern is that pooling more assets could weaken the commercial advantage they have built individually.

This Is Bigger Than Advertising Boards

The dispute is ultimately about what the Premier League wants its commercial model to look like in the future.

The league already has major partnerships with global companies and centrally negotiated commercial arrangements.

Expanding the inventory available to those partners could make the competition's collective product considerably more valuable.

But the Big Six have spent years building global brands that allow them to negotiate their own sponsorships, partnerships and advertising deals.

Giving the league greater control over those assets would therefore represent a major shift.

The proposal is also being compared with commercial structures used by major American sports leagues, where centrally controlled commercial inventory plays a much larger role.

A Vote Could Decide the Next Step

The issue has already been discussed by Premier League clubs, including meetings in February and June.

It is expected to return to the agenda at the next shareholders' meeting on 24 September.

The Big Six alone cannot necessarily block a rule change.

Premier League rule changes require 14 clubs to vote in favour, meaning the six opposing clubs would need to persuade at least one additional club to join them if the proposal reaches a decisive vote.

That makes the next few weeks particularly important.

The question is no longer simply whether the Premier League can find another £550m in commercial revenue.

It is who gets to control that money — and how it is divided once it arrives.

Fan Debate

⚽ Goal: The Premier League should centralise more commercial rights if it increases total revenue for all 20 clubs.

🔥 Fire: The Big Six deserve a larger share if their global brands generate more commercial value.

😲 Shock: The proposed model could potentially increase collective commercial income by around £550m per year.

👍 Like: Greater collective commercial power could make the Premier League even more attractive to global sponsors.

💬 Comment: Should the Premier League pool more commercial rights or allow every club to maximise its own commercial income?