EPL, Premiership, English Premier League

The English Premier League (EPL, formed in 1992) or Barclay’s Premier League (for sponsorship reasons) is the top professional club league in England. The EPL consists of 20 teams which compete every year to stay in the top league. Ranking systems in the EPL are based upon a point system. Wins are worth 3 points, ties 1 point, and losses 0 points. At the end of every season the top 17 teams stay in the EPL, the bottom 3 teams are demoted to The Football League Championship (the 2^nd highest football division). The top 3 teams of the Football League Championship are promoted to the EPL. Because the EPL is the most profitable league in the world, it is a very coveted spot. With no salary cap for players it provides a great incentive to play well. With profits approaching €2.5 billion during the 2007/2008 season and with over half a billion viewers it is the most watched sporting league in the world. The top 4 teams of the EPL qualify for the UEFA Champions League with the top 2 automatically in. EPL teams also compete for the FA Cup, League Cup, UEFA Cup, and UEFA Intertoto Cup.

In the EPL there has been dominance by 4 teams. Manchester Unites, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool have dominated the EPL since its inception. Though Liverpool has been in the top 5 since 1999, they have not received a League Title since the pre-Premier League era. Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and the Blackburn Rovers (1995) are the only four teams to have earned the League Title. Roman Abromavich, a Russian oligarch worth $18.7 billion bought Chelsea in 2003 and poured money into the club. As a result, Chelsea improved rapidly; thus began the “Big Four”. The Big Four” have all qualified for the Champions League for the last 4 seasons only increasing their revenue and (some say) the disparity between them and the rest of the League.

Many people are interested in the wages and salaries that various EPL football players earn; especially since the EPL has no salary cap. The answer to the question is complicated, as there are mean salaries, base salaries, starting salaries, bonuses, and transfer fees (which can remain undisclosed).

Average wages in the EPL increased by 9% during the 2005/2006 season with the average player earning €1.1 million. (Annual Review of Football Finance - Deloitte). According to “The Independents” survey it was approximately €676,000 a year.

Wages during the 2003/2004 season:
Frank Lampard (Chelsea) earned $6.4 million in 2004.
Thierry Henry earned $6.3 million for Arsenal in 2004, though now he plays for Barcelona.
John Terry earned $5.9 million (Chelsea) in 2004.
Ruud van Nistelroy earned $5.8 million for Manchester United (2004) now he plays for Real Madrid.
Roy Keane earned $5.4 million for Manchester United (2004), now he Coaches for Sunderland.
-According to France Football Magazine.

Transfer Fees up to August 2006:
[1] Andriy Shevchenko joined Chelsea from AC Milan for €30 million. (The exact amount was never revealed).
[2] Rio Ferdinand joined Manchester United from Leeds United for €29.1 million.
[3] Wayne Rooney joined Manchester United from Everton for €27 million.
[4] Michael Essien joined Chelsea from Lyon for €26 million.
[5] Didier Drogba joined Chelsea from Marseille for €24 million.
[8] Ricardo Carvalho joined Chelsea from Porto for €19.85 million.
[10] Michael Carrick joined Manchester United from Tottenham for €18.6 million.
[Numbers] indicate positions amongst highest transfers.
-According to Forbes Magazine

Over the next couple of months we can expect tensions to rise as Real Madrid tries to snatch Cristiano Ronaldo from Manchester United. The Guardian has stated that Real is willing to pay around €54 million for the transfer fee with a weekly salary of about €140,000.

In the 2005/2006 season the EPL generated the greatest revenue of all football clubs in the world. Currently at €2 billion, the EPL is expected to exceed €2.5 billion during the 2007/2008 season, an approximate €1 billion above the next highest Italian Serie A. This is extraordinary given their revenues were equal at the turn of the millennium and is probably due to new broadcasting deals (Deloitte reported that Italy could be overtaken by Spain, Germany, or France leagues due to scandals and fan troubles).