Manchester City has dominated the English Premier League over the past decade, winning six titles, including five during the past six years. The on-field performance has helped the club generate the highest revenue in global soccer for two seasons running, with the 2022-23 results still pending; the only sports team in the world that generates more revenue is the Dallas Cowboys.
But when it comes to the bottom line, Man City can’t hold a candle to the teams in that other football league across the pond—the NFL.
Man City had the EPL’s highest profit after player trading at $59 million during 2021-22. In comparison, the NFL’s Buffalo Bills brought in $65 million in earnings in 2022, per Sportico estimates, which was the lowest in the league. NFL teams collectively made an estimated $4.4 billion in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, led by the Cowboys ($460 million), New England Patriots ($265 million) and New York Giants ($215 million). The average of the 32 teams was $137 million.
Meanwhile, only seven EPL clubs made a profit, and the 20 teams lost $497 million overall after player trading. Chelsea (-$153 million) and Manchester United (-$112 million) posted the biggest losses.
The EPL is the unquestioned top league in the world’s most popular sport, and revenue for the elite clubs is on par with the top NFL clubs. The Big Six EPL teams averaged $684 million in revenue versus $586 million for the typical NFL team. The issue is on the expense side—a problem that runs throughout European soccer.
UEFA’s Financial Fair Play regulations are meant to keep European clubs from spending on players beyond their means, but the rules are softer than any salary cap system in American sports leagues. Paris Saint-Germain imported expensive superstars such as Lionel Messi, Neymar and Kylian Mbappé, and its inflated payroll triggered a $400 million loss during the 2021-22 season. That same year, almost every Serie A team lost money. Shad Khan, owner of the EPL’s Fulham, has lost more than $400 million since he bought the club a decade ago.
Almost every EPL team spent at least 60% of its revenue on players during the 2021-22 season with an average level of 70%, and that does not account for a net transfer spend deficit of nearly $1 billion. Contrast that with the NFL, where player costs are determined by a salary cap that allocates roughly 48% of revenue to players.
The NFL cap was $208 million last year with teams also required to kick in more than $40 million apiece for player benefits, but the check teams received from the league office more than covered that expense. National revenue from media and sponsorship partners was $12 billion last year, or 64% of the league’s $17.8 billion in total revenue, which meant each team received nearly $375 million before selling a ticket, beer or local sponsorship. This season, that check is expected to approach $400 million.
The economic disparity is reflected in what buyers are willing to pay for these assets. The Denver Broncos sold for 9 times revenue, while the Washington Commanders fetched more than 10 times revenue, plus a $500 million valuation on club-owned real estate. Last year’s sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali valued the team at 5.2 times revenue, while RedBird Capital Partners paid 4 times revenue for AC Milan.
American ownership groups have invested heavily in European soccer clubs in recent years. Many of them want cost caps with more teeth, similar to U.S. sports. The hitch is getting each of the Big Five European leagues on board, as there is a wide disparity in revenue between countries, as well as within the teams in each league.
"In the future, we have to seriously think about a salary cap," UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin said on the Men in Blazers podcast in April. "If the budgets go sky-high then our competitive balance is a problem.” He added: "Big clubs, small clubs, state-owned clubs, billionaire-owned clubs—everybody agrees."
