Premier League clubs will have to pay back an extra £36million in rebates to the TV broadcasters for every week the start is delayed beyond 12th June.
The payment is on top of a massive £330million the broadcasters are already due even if the remaining 92 games of the 2019-20 campaign are completed. If the season is abandoned with no more games played then the money due back to Sky Sports, BT Sports and the international broadcasters is increased to £762million.
Clubs are expected to meet again with the Premier League on Tuesday 26th May on which a restart date is hoping to be agreed.
A delay until the 19th June will cost £36m in penalties bringing the total rebate to £366m while a delay of three weeks until the end of June as Steve Bruce suggested would add another £72m bringing the total compensation to £438m.
Should the Premier League not start until the end of July then the figure bumps up to £582m and end of August £726m at which point it makes little financial difference whether the games are completed or not.
The report by Jason Burt in the Telegraph today has been confirmed by a club senior source as 100% accurate on the current financial position facing Premier League clubs.
Then it’s about time that Sky & BT came out from their ivory towers and had a look about to see what is happening in the real world.
Countless people are losing their jobs and companies are going to the wall all over the world. Sky certainly are better placed than most businesses to absorb some losses and survive.
At what point are these people going to accept the world is in crisis due to the pandemic and maybe at last show some common sense?
We are all in this together although some are perhaps not quite so together as the majority.