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The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) board is set to confirm a huge cut to the central distribution fund, derived from TV rights and commercial revenue, from $2 million this season to just $1 million in 2024-25. The 50 per cent reduction in payment to clubs will cover just over one third of the A-League Men’s salary cap of $2.6 million.

CODE Sports understands the APL received as little as $5 million in cash from its TV rights deal this season, announced just three years ago as a $30 million per year deal, after production costs were factored in and penalties around benchmark subscription rates not met.

The APL has two years remaining on its five-year deal with Ten/Paramount+.

The dramatic reduction in payment to A-League clubs, many of whom are already cash strapped, lays bare the APL’s financial plight. By comparison, most AFL clubs and all NRL clubs receive central payments totalling more than 100 per cent of their respective salary caps.

The $140 million private equity injection from Silver Lake - announced less than three years ago - has been spent, although the US firm maintains a position on the APL board and will be involved in the future direction of finances in today’s meeting.

The bleak outlook comes at a galling time for the domestic competition after a high quality weekend of on-field action where Sydney FC won the A-League Women’s grand final, Melbourne Victory won an epic elimination final against rivals Melbourne City on penalties and Central Coast Mariners became just the second Australian team to win an Asian club continental title by lifting the AFC Cup.

The news also arrives at a time when Newcastle United is without an owner, the license for Perth Glory was sold for just $1 and the anticipated introduction of a Canberra men’s team remains in doubt.

How clubs navigate the off-season and set budgets for 2024-25 is uncertain, with sales of young Australian prospects, like the reported $3 million Adelaide United received from Bayern Munich for Nestory Irankunda, set to be the saving grace for clubs equipped to develop talent, a topic covered in today’s episode of Saving Football: Elite Development.

Until now, the central distribution fund underpinned all A-League clubs’ bottom lines, with a former club executive telling CODE Sports it has “always been the No.1 revenue stream.”

The A-League Men’s salary cap is set at $2.6 million, although at least another $3 million is needed per club, per season to cover costs such as coaching, support staff and logistics. Another $1 million annually is required to field an A-League Women’s team.

Next season’s distribution figure of around $1 million is nearly a 70 per cent reduction from less than a decade ago, when each club received more than $3 million per season when the A-Leagues were under Football Australia control. The figure was $2.4 million last July but cut to $2 million in August, just weeks after clubs had already set budgets for the current season.

The APL’s financial state caps a torrid three years after it secured separation from Football Australia, following a bitter six-year political battle that saw the Lowy family walk away from the game in 2018, just 13 years removed from the creation of the A-League under chairman Frank Lowy.

The clubs agitated for change, arguing they had no control over their own destiny.

The APL promised a new dawn when the breakaway was confirmed in December 2020 and a year later, with the $140 million from Silver Lake confirmed, then-CEO Danny Townsend told CODE Sports: “You’ll blow through that money quickly if you’re not careful. It’s about spending it wisely and doing it in a structured way like any other business.”

A series of strategic mis-steps, most notably the reported $50 million spent on the now defunct digital arm KeepUp, has sent the APL into a spiral financially.

Townsend left the APL last October, replaced by Nick Garcia, while inaugural chairman Paul Lederer stood down and was replaced by former Labor federal minister Stephen Conroy.

Garcia and Conroy, tasked with cleaning up the mess, will deliver the harsh news to clubs today.

Under Conroy’s leadership, along with Football Australia’s new chairman Anter Isaac, the once-fractious relationship between the APL and FA is improving; a crucial development given the A-Leagues are the major pipelines for developing future Socceroos and Matildas.

Football Australia CEO James Johnson said the governing body is committed to helping the APL through its current troubles.

“We are in very positive dialogue with the APL,” Johnson told CODE Sports earlier this month. “We are here to help. Might have been frosty a few years ago. Not now.”

Oh boy…

that k unt... in saudi arabia or wherever he is should be brought back...weasle 

these top end corporates always get away with destroying something and moving on to next ay day while everyone else suffers 

They'll need to look at getting out of that deal early. I read something on here that may happen this year? Or am I misremembering. That's unsustainable for another 5-years. All clubs would need to re-structure. 

Clubs re-structuring is probably a good thing. No point pretending things are the same as they were a decade ago. 

Oh boy, thats quite a chop and explains the troubles APL had in selling new $25mill licences. 

"CEO Danny Townsend told CODE Sports: “You’ll blow through that money quickly if you’re not careful. It’s about spending it wisely and doing it in a structured way like any other business.”

Can't See Paramount carrying on.

Long off season ahead

They should be carefull what they wish for mate, who else is going to pay to broadcast soccer in Australia? At least enough to distribute 12 million to franchises anyway?

Theyll end up having to live of whatever handouts the FA can afford... Lets hope they dont take anything away from the championship budgets. 

Is it possible they can have a league the second division npl all on YouTube? Feel like that would be something a subscription that gives you heaps of football 

Stephen Lowey predicted this would happen , taking the money admin away from the people that understand money letting the clubs have free rein and Silver lakes $130mil blown mostly on an app that nobody could find .
shambles

I dont think the FA is in a position to negotiate broadcasting rights for the Aleagues mate... They are a separate entity now.  Like in your article above, JJ states that the APL may be able to throw them a few sheckles but it has the national teams and hundreds of other leagues/competitons to adminstor.

BTW has anyone heard anything about the Aleagues Youth competitions that were being launched witht eh help of Silverlakes rivers of gold a few years back? are the APL still committed to "developing future Socceroos and Matilda's" or are all the rapidly diminishing distribution funds going to fund the senior squads still?

The rest of Repucom gang are still here, sucking it dry. 

Probably enacting their own escape plans as we type

The Lowey family surely wouldn't have set up the APL to fail would they? They saved soccer in Australia?

In fairness the early days were pretty decent, good marquee players and decent football 
the middle years were average, post Lowy and the past couple have been pretty dire post Fox even though standard of football has improved, the off field issues keep dragging it down.
all the positives heave been overshadowed by multiple own goals 

They should look at restructuring the TV rights. Do their own production and offer it on multiple platforms. Why be "exclusively" on Paramount when they don't give us the respect we deserve? We could be on both Paramount and Optus for example. You might make less money back initially, but it should help with eyeballs. And eyeballs promote growth.  

So there was $30m a year available and it is down to $1m for next season.

How much "penalties around benchmark subscription rates not met" is worth is not mentioned but it must be a huge factor. It would be fascinating to know that figure and the "production costs" to have a proper picture.

Surely there is scope to market (with whatever dollars they have) and try to boost Paramount+ subscriptions - but a drop in revenue from potential 30 to 1 actual screams financial negligence. Not that it is news to us following the Keepup stupidity.

Edit: Re-reading the details. So it has gone from $30m to $5m this last year, and the central fund has dropped for each club from $2m this last year to $1m next year. Separate things the $30m and the $1m for all that the first flows into the second.

Would be hard to make anything off the rights then if both "streamers" dont see the value.... 

as i said, not in the short term. 

fair enough... but it has to be at least seen to be adding value to a company like Optus for them to even consider... The haven't shown an interest before, maybe if the price was "free to a good home" and all they had to do is host (an existing product) on their streaming service perhaps. Would make it alot more visible than it currently is I agree. 

Originally the A-League was exclusively on Fox. 
This forum: "We should have a match on FTA to get more eyeballs".

Things changed, so that SBS (and then later ABC) broadcast a match on FTA.
This forum: "Hardly anyone watches those channels. We need to be on a commercial network to get more eyeballs"

A-League goes to channel 10/Paramount with 2 matches per week on FTA.
This forum: "We need to be on multiple streaming services to get more eyeballs".

We need a comic book series like Roy of the Rovers and Panini trading cards too. lol

I think Simon Pearce should just get the Saudis to buy the whole thing, clubs and all, and fill it with overpaid ‘superannuation’ players.
Surely 7 or 9 would be keen to get it.

He works for Abu Dhabi



Would laugh if Danny Townsend walks in with the cash though

We may see the competition fold in the off season.
A real possibility. 

Some could apply for spots in the NST

(or would that be the NFT?)

WU vs Wellington GF in Abu Dhabi 2025??? Sounds like it could work, as long as they lay off the cloud seeding and they can dry out their football pitches in time :)

Is pro football possible with this money?
Bear in mind also that it is almost impossible to imagine a buyer for the next tv rights. 
This has been coming for years. I'm kind of glad that it's come to the crunch at last. Very big off season coming up.
The A League needs a complete re think. Paramount was last chance saloon. 

Get out of these ridiculous stadiums while we are at it and get back to suburban grounds 

https://www.news.com.au/technology/motoring/new-cars/huge-call-for-thousands-of-tradie-ute-owners-as-law-firm-prepares-class-action-against-mazda-isuzu/news-story/50b3eb70460c76aea69fa89ce77d418c

Hot damn, the death spiral is real......