Bundesliga clubs generate record €4.45bn in 2022/23 – SportsPro – SportsPro Media

• Revenue for top-flight clubs up 23% YoY as Covid-19 restrictions fully lifted
• Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 teams generate combined €5.24bn
• More than two thirds of sides in the black

Clubs in the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2, German soccer’s top two divisions, pulled in record combined revenues of €5.24 billion (US$5.68 billion) for the 2022/23 season.

It is the first time that collective revenues for teams in both leagues have exceeded the €5 billion (US$5.4 billion) mark, with the latest figure nine per cent higher than the previous record from the 2018/19 campaign.

Top-flight clubs generated a record €4.45 billion (US$4.82 billion) for 2022/23, up 23 per cent year-on-year (YoY). Sides in the second-tier Bundesliga 2 amassed €785.7 million (US$851.8 million), the second highest figure in the league’s history.

The German Football League (DFL) credited several reasons for the uptick in club income, citing income from ticket sales in the Bundesliga almost doubling to €536.5 million (US$581.7 million) as Covid-19 restrictions were lifted.

The DFL added that revenues from central marketing continue to make up the largest revenue items and increased significantly by ten per cent YoY to €1.52 billion (US$1.65 billion). One of the drivers for this is that the distribution of income from national media rights by the DFL to clubs is subject to a sliding scale over the course of a rights period, currently the 2021/25 cycle, and increases from year to year.

Advertising revenue also hit a record €1.12 billion (US$1.21 billion), an increase of 21 per cent YoY and exceeding the €1 billion (US$1.1 billion) mark for the first time.

Transfer revenue also played a significant part, rising 34 per cent compared to 2021/22 and reaching €617.1 million (US$669.1 million).

Media revenue, advertising, and match revenue collectively account for more than 70 per cent of the Bundesliga’s total revenue.

Around two thirds of clubs and limited companies were in the black in 2022/23, according to the DFL, which is a YoY increase from 18 to 23. A record figure of more than €1.6 billion (US$1.7 billion) in taxes and duties were also paid by the 36 clubs last season.

In the first half of the ongoing 2023/24 campaign, approximately 10.28 million tickets were sold for German professional soccer, which is an all-time high.

The DFL has also announced an expanded, multi-year pact with Amazon Web Services (AWS), which will continue as the organisation’s official technology provider. AWS will also serve as the official generative AI provider of the DFL, which will see the firm utilise the technology to accelerate innovation in German soccer.

“With a personnel cost ratio below 50 per cent and larger investments in youth academies, German clubs are sustainable and much healthier financially than other top European leagues,” said DFL chief executive Marc Lenz.

“Sporting success and attractive leagues must remain achievable with economic efficiency – as the future, healthy standard in Europe. Therefore, in addition to strong central marketing, effective financial and ownership rules in the international and national scope remain crucial for our German model.”

DFL chief executive Steffen Merkel said: “A record amount of taxes and duties, 55,001 people employed and the highest ticket sales in history: the key figures for the 2022/23 season speak for themselves, not just in terms of revenue and once again document the social importance and responsibility of the Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2. Despite times of crisis, German professional football has retained its popularity and appeal.”