Ambitious football owners face constraints when trying to increase revenues and their yield on existing rights. Broadcast deals are centrally negotiated, sponsorship inventory is hard to differentiate, and matchday revenues are limited by infrastructure constraints.

For EPL clubs, the solution should involve investing in performance. We estimate a 10% improvement in expected points delivers an 18% increase in average broadcast revenues alone (>£20m annually, factoring in changes to the probability of Europe or relegation).

Impacts vary by a club’s starting position. The best mid-table teams see the greatest impact as they become contenders for lucrative European competitions and eliminate relegation risks.

Further investment is warranted where expected broadcast revenue uplift exceeds the costs of a 10% performance improvement . Otherwise, investments must yield other rewards (e.g. future player sales).