October 9: The SPFL is £400,000 short of a distribution target originally expected to be reached by 2029, after another record year boosted payouts to Scottish clubs to £49.6m.
Announced by the league on Thursday, group distributions increased by 18% to £7.6m in 2025-26, while total income reached £58m. Fees paid directly to clubs increased by 17% to £41.2m.
The £50m target was set following a strategic review by Deloitte in 2021, as the league looked for ways to grow the commercial value of Scottish football in the wake of the pandemic, which had left the football industry facing financial insecurity.
At the time, the league’s annual fees to clubs were £28.4 million. Since then they have increased by almost three quarters.
Much of this increase has come through the streaming revenue funnel. Sky Sports holds the Premiership rights until 2029, while Premier Sports has steadily expanded its domestic position and last year extended its League Cup broadcast and title sponsorship deal to 2031.
William Hill has the rights to the league title, while licensing, data and other commercial deals have added to the total. HALO also joined last season as the SPFL’s first official technology partner.
Crucially, the extra TV money hasn’t come at the expense of crowds.
The 2025-26 Premiership became the SPFL’s first top-flight season to surpass four million viewers, with total league attendances once again reaching record levels. Scotland have also led the UEFA European leagues in attendances per population in each of the last three published seasons.
Neil Doncaster, SPFL Group Chief Executive, said: “In an increasingly competitive international rights market, these results are testament to the SPFL’s enduring appeal.
“These are by far the strongest financial results in the history of the SPFL, with total group turnover and distributions surpassing the records set last year, and we are determined to maintain this momentum.
“Thanks to a lot of hard work by clubs and individuals across the SPFL, we have made substantial progress towards our strategic target of £50m for club distributions.
“Crucially, in addition to record commercial income, our member clubs have also hosted the highest annual attendances in the SPFL era, following one of the most exciting seasons Scottish football has ever seen. This drama and energy has been reflected in the level of interest we have seen from our commercial and broadcast partners, in a season which has seen a record number of live matches.”
Chairman Murdoch MacLennan now expects the £50m mark to be broken this season, two years ahead of schedule.
This would continue a rapid rise from £37.9m in group handouts in 2023-24 and £42m last season.
Contact the writer of this story, Harry Ewing, at (email protected)