The German Bundesliga achieved record revenues for the tenth year in a row in the 2013/14 season.
At EUR 2.45 billion, revenues were up 12.9 percent over the previous year. 13 out of the 18 clubs – and hence one more than in the previous year – operated profitably. On the expense side, the staff cost ratio, which expresses the proportion of player and trainer salaries in total revenues, came to 36.8 percent, i.e. substantially lower than in the previous year. By comparison, the average Europe-wide figure stands at 65 percent according to UEFA.
The 2nd Division Bundesliga also posted record revenues of EUR 458 million (up 9.2 percent over the previous year), while the staff cost ratio was also significantly less than 40 percent. DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga, the operaters of the Bundesliga, announced these figures on Thursday during the presentation of the 2015 Bundesliga Report in Frankfurt am Main.
“Over the last few years, professional football in Germany has used its solid financial foundations to achieve outstanding sporting results. Looking forward, the outlook remains upbeat as Bundesliga’s economic growth is continuing unabated. This will form the basis for the clubs’ future performance and allow them to finance the manifold activities which they carry out for the good of society as a whole,” says Christian Seifert, CEO, Bundesliga.
With taxes and duties of more than EUR 875 million, German professional football is a major taxpayer. Over the past five years, it has paid total taxes of almost four billion euros.
German professional football is also a significant employer. During the 2013/14 season, 48,830 people (8 percent more than in the previous year) were employed either directly or were contracted by the licensed clubs.
The full Bundesliga Report can be downloaded at
http://static.bundesliga.com/media/native/autosync/gb_dfl_bl_report_2015_150dpi.pdf