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Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham are reportedly resisting plans by the Premier League to place more commercial rights under central control, setting the stage for a fresh dispute between the division’s biggest clubs and the rest of the competition.

The proposed change could significantly increase the Premier League’s collective commercial income, with the league believing that a larger pool of centrally controlled advertising and sponsorship assets could lift annual commercial revenue from about £200 million to as much as £750 million.

However, the so-called Big Six are understood to be against giving up more of the commercial inventory currently controlled by individual clubs.

 

At the heart of the disagreement is the Premier League’s proposal to bring a greater number of commercial assets into the central sales system. Stadium perimeter advertising, including LED advertising boards, is one of the areas being considered.

While some perimeter advertising is already sold collectively, clubs retain control over a substantial amount of commercial inventory within their stadiums.

The Premier League believes that bringing more of those assets together would strengthen its offering to major international brands and increase the overall value of its commercial platform.

The financial potential is substantial. Modelling suggests that annual commercial income could rise from approximately £200 million to as much as £750 million if more rights were pooled centrally.

That prospect, however, has exposed a major divide over who should control the assets and how the additional revenue should eventually be distributed.

Big Six concerned over loss of commercial control

The Premier League’s biggest clubs have built powerful global brands and sophisticated commercial operations of their own, enabling them to negotiate sponsorships, partnerships and advertising agreements independently.

The concern among the Big Six is that transferring more of those rights to a central system could reduce their freedom to exploit the commercial strength of their individual brands.

Manchester United are reportedly among those particularly concerned about the potential impact of greater centralisation on their ability to increase club-generated commercial income.

Similar concerns are understood to apply to Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City and Tottenham, all of whom have substantial international followings and established commercial portfolios.

The clubs are also likely to argue for a larger share of any additional income created by a centralised system, given the scale of the audiences and commercial value they bring to the Premier League.

The league, by contrast, is focused on maximising the collective value of the Premier League brand and creating a commercial structure capable of attracting more global investment.

Could smaller clubs emerge as beneficiaries?

For clubs outside the Big Six, the proposed changes could offer an opportunity to increase the overall commercial value of the competition while strengthening the collective financial position of the division.

The Premier League’s most recently published central payments showed commercial income of around £158 million in 2024/25, with each club receiving an equal share of the commercial pot.

That figure is expected to have increased to around £200 million for 2025/26.

If the league succeeds in expanding the centrally controlled commercial inventory, the resulting increase could make commercial revenue a considerably more important component of the Premier League’s financial model.

But that possibility is also what makes the proposal contentious for the biggest clubs.

More than a dispute over advertising boards

Although stadium advertising is one of the main assets being considered, the disagreement goes far beyond LED boards around the pitch.

The wider issue is whether the Premier League should move towards a more centralised commercial system, with a greater proportion of the competition’s commercial assets controlled and sold collectively.

The Premier League already operates major centrally negotiated partnerships with global companies. Expanding the amount of inventory available to those partners could make the competition’s overall commercial proposition significantly more attractive.

For the Big Six, however, greater central control could amount to a major change in a system they have spent years developing around their own brands.

The proposed structure has also drawn comparisons with major American sports leagues, where centrally controlled commercial inventory plays a much greater role.

September vote could prove decisive

The issue has already been discussed by Premier League clubs at meetings in February and June and is expected to return to the agenda at the next shareholders’ meeting on September 24.

The Big Six cannot automatically stop a rule change simply by voting as a bloc.

Premier League rule changes require 14 clubs to vote in favour. That means the six opposing clubs would need to convince at least one other club to join their position if the proposal reaches a decisive vote.

The outcome could therefore have implications far beyond the immediate debate over sponsorship and advertising.

For the Premier League, the opportunity is to potentially unlock hundreds of millions of pounds in additional commercial income.

For the Big Six, the central question is whether that growth should come at the expense of greater control over the commercial assets that underpin their individual brands.

The coming vote could ultimately determine not just how much the Premier League earns from commercial rights, but who controls those rights and how the resulting income is shared.