MOT View: £595m EFL deal was bad for Leeds, now it could leave club with big financial hole

Dave is a huge Leeds fan and ardent disciple of Bielsa ball. A career in print magazines that included editing PC Zone, launching PokerPlayer and redesigning The Big Issue has finally led Dave to writing about the love of his life, Leeds United. It’s been a tough 2020 but the single scariest moment was the first quarter of the game against Man City. Rodrigo will be the saviour this season.

Published on:

05 May 2020, 8:29 am

The £595m deal the EFL struck with Sky Sports was always bad for Leeds United.

15 clubs including Leeds protested at the time and wanted the deal left unsigned in 2018.

Even regular Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville pointed out the glaring disconnect between clubs like Leeds and the bottom club in the Premier League.

Gary Neville 🗣 "We’re seeing the main structural flaw in English football. The bottom club in the PL gaining £100m of broadcast money and the top club in the EFL, Leeds get £3m. You must see the disconnect & the disproportionate financial reward. It needs resetting."

Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/0XL4Dqd70M
— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) April 8, 2020

In the 18/19 season, Leeds earned just under £1.5m from TV, despite 24 games being shown.

Now, the deal could hit Leeds n the pocket again.

EFL chairman Rick Parry had set out a plan to enable clubs to recover lost matchday revenue by using iFollow to stream all remaining games if the Championship restarts.

However, a report in the Mail has said that this would amount to a breach of the EFL's contract with Sky. At present, clubs can only stream midweek and rearranged games.

Clubs are not allowed to stream weekend games or matches chosen by Sky Sports.

Given that Sky has already shown 13 of Leeds' 37 games this season and given that Leeds, West Brom and Fulham are going to provide all the interest in the Championship going forward, this could mean Leeds losing out on more revenue unless the EFL can renegotiate the deal.

The Leeds fanbase is the biggest and best in the Championship. If any club could leverage supporters to stream games on iFollow, it would be Leeds. And that revenue is hugely important to the club.

The EFL must do everything in its powers to change the deal and, if that fails, limit the number of games Sky can show from any one club.

In other Leeds United news, Sky Sports deliver major promotion boost to Leeds & West Brom

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