2017/18 UEFA Champions League revenue distribution

UEFA has issued its UEFA Champions League revenue distribution system for the forthcoming campaign. The estimated gross commercial revenue from the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League, 2017/18 UEFA Europa League and 2017 UEFA Super Cup will be approximately €2.35bn.

Of that estimated gross commercial revenue, the total amount available for distribution to participating clubs in 2017/18 will be €1,718.7m – of which €1,318.9m will go to clubs in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup, and €399.8m to clubs in the UEFA Europa League.

In addition, of the estimated gross amount of €2.35bn, some 12% (or €282m) will be used to cover organisational or administrative competition-related costs, and 8.5% (€199.7m) allocated to solidarity payments.

What it will mean for the 32 clubs in the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League group stage is a guaranteed minimum fixed payment of €12.7m each, to be boosted by bonus payments of €1.5m per win and €500,000 per draw in the group stage.

The teams competing in the round of 16 will further increase their base payment by receiving an additional €6m fee, with the quarter-finalists then picking up €6.5m apiece and the semi-finalists pocketing €7.5m each.

The UEFA Champions League winners themselves can expect to receive €15.5m and the runners-up €11m.

A club could therefore collect, at best, €57.2m, which does not include play-off allocations or market pool share.

The group-stage, performance-related and qualification payments combine to make a fixed total of €761.9m. On top of that comes an estimated £507m in variable – or market pool – payments; these are distributed according to the proportional value of each television market represented by the teams taking part in the UEFA Champions League (from the group stage onwards), and are split among the different clusters of sides competing from the same national association.

Five influencing factors determine the exact market-pool payment that a team will be entitled to: actual final amount of money in the market pool; actual composition of the 2017/18 UEFA Champions League field; number of clubs from that team’s association; these clubs’ respective rankings in the previous season’s domestic championship; and these clubs’ performances in the forthcoming UEFA Champions League.

Meanwhile, the 2017 UEFA Super Cup winners will be the recipients of €4m and the runners-up €3m.

Which all amounts to a net €1,268.9m for clubs in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Super Cup in 2017/18, in keeping with the revenue distribution system adopted for UEFA’s 2015–18 commercial cycle.

Every domestic champion club that does not qualify for the group stage will receive a solidarity payment of €260,000 in addition to the amounts due for participation in the qualifying rounds (which only teams not qualifying for the group stage are entitled to): €220,000 (for the first qualifying round). €320,000 (for the second), €420,000 (for the third; for eliminated sides only). Clubs going out in the play-offs pick up their first and second round payments, plus the abovementioned €260,000 .

(Note that all net revenue from the three club competitions – including from ticket sales and hospitality packages for the three finals – is centralised and then reallocated.)