SPFL Pays Clubs a Record £49.6m and Now Sits Within £400,000 of Its £50m Target Two Years Early

The Scottish Professional Football League's latest annual accounts, published on Thursday, show it distributed a record £49.6 million to its 42 member clubs last season — leaving the league within £400,000 of a £50 million target it had set itself for 2029, with chairman Murdoch MacLennan now expecting the landmark to be passed this season, two years early.

Total group distributions rose by £7.6 million, or 18 per cent, on the previous record of £42 million, while group income climbed from £50.4 million to £58 million. Fees paid directly to clubs through the league's ladder system — where a fixed percentage of fees follows each club's finishing position — increased by £6 million to £41.2 million, a 17 per cent rise.

Where the money came from

The growth was driven by broadcast and commercial income: the SPFL's contracts with Sky Sports and Premier Sports for live William Hill Premiership matches run to 2029, an enhanced deal with Premier Sports for the broadcast and sponsorship of the Premier Sports Cup runs until at least 2031, and the league also banked record title-sponsorship money from William Hill alongside licensing, match-data and other commercial deals. The financial year also brought two firsts: HALO joined as the SPFL's first official technology partner and the SPFL Trust became its first official community partner.

• Total group distributions: £49.6 million, up 18 per cent — the highest figure in SPFL history.
• Group income: £58 million, up from £50.4 million the previous year.
• Fees paid directly to clubs: £41.2 million, a 17 per cent increase.
• Premiership champions' payment estimated above £5 million for the first time, at roughly £5.5 million.
• Group distributions also include parachute payments, ScottishPower Women's Premier League payments, cup prize money and broadcast facility fees.

The Deloitte benchmark, three years early

The £50 million objective dates from an independent strategic review carried out by Deloitte's Sports Business Group in 2021, when the league was looking for ways to grow the commercial value of Scottish football in the wake of the pandemic. League officials now believe working with the 42 clubs across all four divisions can deliver the target this season — which would be two years ahead of the schedule set four years ago.

These are by far the strongest financial results in the SPFL's history, with turnover and total group distributions both surpassing the records set last year, and we are determined to maintain that momentum.— Neil Doncaster, SPFL group chief executive, on the league's annual accounts, 8 October 2026

The commercial growth has ridden on record crowds. The 2025-26 Premiership became the first SPFL top-flight season to pass four million spectators, with overall league attendances at their highest levels of the SPFL era — a season that ended with Celtic securing the title on the final day. Figures published by UEFA showed roughly six million Scottish supporters watched men's matches across the campaign, with around 900,000 in the lower leagues, 200,000 at domestic cup ties and 800,000 at European matches.

What it means for the clubs

For a league outside Europe's big-five markets, the accounts are a rare unambiguous good-news story: money flowing down the pyramid at record levels, broadcast income contracted through 2029 and 2031, and a distribution milestone arriving years ahead of plan. The next test is sustaining it — Doncaster pointed to an 'increasingly competitive international rights market', and the chairman's pledge to cross £50 million this season assumes another season of record attendances and commercial growth rather than resting on the 2025-26 surge.

Reported by Ines Kovač for OneLightScore, based on the SPFL's annual accounts and reporting from Inside World Football, BBC Sport, the Daily Record and The Scotsman. Cover image: aerial view of Hampden Park, Glasgow, via Wikimedia Commons, Creative Commons licence.