Premier League clubs are pushing for a bigger share of football’s increasingly lucrative data contracts, a move likely to further inflame tensions with the English Football League (EFL).
Under the terms of the existing contract, the Premier League and EFL receive an equal share of money from the collective sale of their data rights, bringing in around £35 million a year for each league. The Scottish Premier League is receiving a significantly smaller share of revenue in a deal worth a few million pounds with clubs north of the border.
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The Premier League and EFL are equal shareholders in the company which manages the collection and sale of their data, Football DataCo.
The commercial value of the deal has historically been relatively low, but has increased significantly in recent years due to the huge increase in football betting volume, as well as much greater use of data by broadcasters . A number of Premier League clubs believe that, given they have been the main drivers of this growth, they should receive a larger share.
The financial distribution has already been changed in favor of the Premier League, because before the data revolution, Football DataCo’s main role was to manage the distribution of results and fixtures. During this period, the EFL received around 50% of the pot to reflect the fact that its competitions had more matches.
Football DataCo this year agreed a new four-year contract with Genius Sports as its official data provider in a deal which begins next season. Under the terms of the deal, Genius will capture and distribute live data – such as expected goals and shots on target – for more than 4,000 matches per season, which will then be sold to hundreds of betting companies and broadcasters all over the world.
Several Premier League clubs are lobbying for a bigger share of the profits when the new deal comes into force next season. The Premier League has a duty to consider such requests from its clubs, although any changes to distribution arrangements will need to be agreed to by the EFL and SPL.
The Premier League declined to comment, but sources said all parties were happy with the current performance and future trajectory of the DataCo deal. The emergence of the DataCo affair comes at a time when relations between the Premier League and the EFL are already strained. The biggest fault line lies in their differences over what powers should be given to football’s new independent regulator, with particular tension over whether parachute payments should fall within its remit.
Furthermore, long-standing negotiations on a new financial agreement between the two organizations, the “New Deal for Football”, have not yet been concluded.
Despite their clubs’ wealth, the Premier League’s central funds are under pressure due to a huge increase in their legal costs caused by the cost of profit and sustainability (PSR) cases and associated party transactions (APT) brought against Manchester City, Everton and Nottingham Forest.
The Premier League’s annual legal bill has increased almost tenfold to around £50million over the past two years. Pulling more data would help offset some of this increase.
The cohesion of the Premier League is also being tested ahead of a club meeting on Friday to discuss possible changes to the competition’s PTA regulations. The Premier League wants clubs to vote on proposed rule amendments, but City have demanded the process be suspended and have received support from Aston Villa, who want the vote canceled.
The Premier League will only hold a ballot if it is sure of securing the two-thirds majority required to introduce the new rules.