England: English Premier League wages spiral over £2 BILLION for the first time

According to reports from the 25th Annual Review of Football Finance from Deloitte, wage costs in the top-flight increased by 7 percent for the 2014/15 season

Premier League wages have spiralled over the £2billion mark for the first time.
According to the 25th Annual Review of Football Finance from Deloitte, wage costs in the top-flight increased by 7 percent for the 2014/15 season.

The figures showed the 92 Football League clubs generated more than £4billion in revenues for the first time, with Premier League sides generating record revenues of £3.3billion.
The increase in revenue was 3 percent from 2013/14 - a modest amount given the growth in wage costs.
Last year, Manchester United and England skipper Wayne Rooney was the top earner in the Premier League - estimated to be receiving £260,000-a-week.

Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said: "Wage costs grew at a faster rate than revenues in 2014/15 and as a result the division’s wages/revenue ratio rose from 58% to 61%.

However, this represents the second lowest level since 2004/05 and is ten percentage points lower than in 2012/13.

"In fact, in the last two years, only 30% of revenue increases have been consumed by wage growth, whereas in the five years to 2012/13 this figure was 99%.”
Wage costs cover all employees - including players and technical and administrative employees.

In the Championship, wage costs rose by 4percent to £541m - with clubs spending almost as much on wages as they generated in revenue.

Adam Bull, Senior Consultant in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, added: “With promotion to the top flight now worth at least an additional £170m to those Championship clubs not in receipt of a parachute payment, it is no surprise that clubs are doing all they can to put the best talent on the pitch in the hope of reaching the promised land of the Premier League.”