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LONDON: The Premier League's new broadcast deals that came into force with the 2016/2017 season has given newly crowned champions Chelsea a record pay-out of more than £150 million ($190 million, 172 million euros), nearly £60 million more than their predecessors Leicester.
The broadcast deals, including a bumper domestic contract, ensured generous end-of-season payments for all 20 Premier League clubs who shared a total of £2.4 billion.
Second-placed Tottenham Hotspur earned about £145 million - slightly less than Manchester City and Liverpool owing to the difference in their "facility fees", awarded for appearances on TV.
Domestic rights to broadcast the Premier League were sold for £5.1 billion over three seasons, dwarfing the previous deal.
The league shares money from its central commercial deals and overseas broadcast rights on an equal basis, which means all 20 clubs got nearly £5 million each for the former and £39 million for the latter, AFP reports.
Even the three clubs who were relegated leave with large payments, including bottom-placed Sunderland who received just over £93 million.
The Premier League also paid out nearly £220 million in "parachute payments" to eight teams relegated in recent seasons: Aston Villa, Cardiff, Fulham, Newcastle, Norwich, QPR, Reading and Wigan.
Villa, Newcastle and Norwich, who were relegated last year, got almost £41 million each, QPR £31 million and the other four more than £16 million.
Overall, the ratio between the highest and the lowest earning clubs in the Premier League was 1.61 to 1, the lowest among Europe's top leagues.
The Premier League's appeal to broadcasters at home and abroad has also permitted it to increase the money it distributes to grassroots facilities and projects.
In the last financial year, the league spent £200 million in this area, about seven percent of its total broadcast income.
The collective and central nature of the way the Premier League markets rights and distributes income to Clubs allows the League and its members to support the entire football pyramid and a range of community programmes and good causes.
The scale of Premier League support and investment in the wider game, and in communities and schools, is unprecedented in the world of professional sport.
Along with the clubs, the league provides a range of support for the development of football outside the EPL, including solidarity payments for all EFL and National League clubs, and the funding of player pensions and welfare and medical insurance costs for all EFL players.
The League and its clubs fund community facilities across England and Wales, operate national and local sports participation projects, and have recently launched Premier League Primary Stars – a programme that will help to inspire primary school children in everything from maths and English to teamwork and sport.
Last year EY published an economic impact report on the Premier League and its clubs. It found that Premier League football generated £2.4 billion in tax revenues in 2013/14, and contributed £3.4 billion to the UK’s Gross Value Added.