How much do Bayern Munich earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

Cameron Smith

21 Apr 2023 05:00 CDT
5 min read

Jamal Musiala, Bayern Munich, 2022/23 — © ProShots

The 2023 version of the Deloitte Money List has been released and it shows the various sources of revenue for the top 20 clubs in world football.

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The list is dominated by the Premier League, with 11 of its 20 entrants coming from there, while 16 of the top 30 are based in England. Bayern Munich have perennially been among the leading teams but of late their position is coming under threat.

HOW DO BAYERN EARN REVENUE?

Bayern Munich’s revenue generation comes from three distinct places; matchday revenue, broadcast revenue and commercial revenue. These three areas combine to create a club’s overall revenue for a season.

Bayern are a domestic behemoth, extremely well-run and able to generate a gigantic commercial revenue from within their own market. But their unwillingness to spend as extravagantly as the Premier League clubs has held back their ability to compete on a European level for some time.

WHAT IS MATCHDAY REVENUE?

Matchday revenue consists of all revenue generated on a matchday. This includes ticket sales, food and merchandise, as well as hospitality offerings. Though Bayern’s Allianz Arena is sold out every week and hosts 60,000, strict ticket cost regulations in Germany limit the amount of revenue that can be generated through ticket sales alone.

As such matchday revenue is one of Bayern’s weakest areas of revenue in comparison to the rest of Europe, which is a good thing for their fans, but leaves them a little behind Europe’s elite.

Year	Matchday Revenue (€m)
2015	90
2016	102
2017	88
2018	104
2019	92
2020	70
2021	12
2022	68

WHAT IS COMMERCIAL REVENUE?

Commercial revenue is everything related to the overall sponsorship and brand activities of a football club. In the modern game this takes on many additional forms. Previously the only additional commercial revenue would be related to in-stadium advertising and perhaps a shirt sponsor arrangement.

But now various parts of real estate attached to the club can be monetised; everything from sleeve sponsors, to sponsors of the stadiums themselves, commercial managers are looking at any possible way to successfully generate revenue by building relationships with a whole host of brands.

It is in the commercial revenue space that Bayern can admit to be a competitor for any team in the world. The size of their domestic deals in a market such as Germany ensure they have complete control of the domestic space - winning the title nine times in succession - and have commercial revenue generation which is on a par with state-owned Manchester City and PSG.

Year	Commercial Revenue (€m)
2015	278
2016	343
2017	343
2018	349
2019	357
2020	361
2021	345
2022	378

WHAT IS BROADCASTING REVENUE?

Broadcasting revenue relates to monies earned by the negotiation of showing a club’s matches domestically and internationally in each competition they are entered into.

Domestic TV deals are the most lucrative, with the country in which the league is played happy to pay inflated fees to fill their broadcast schedules with as many football matches as possible. Leagues are also free to negotiate with individual countries and regions to show their matches in that territory.

© ProShots - Benjamin Pavard, Bayern Munich

The Bundesliga have negotiated massively improved domestic deals in the past century which have helped them to remain competitive with the other major leagues, but like Serie A and Ligue 1, their lack of penetration internationally causes them to fall significantly behind others.

Year	Broadcasting Revenue (€m)
2015	106
2016	148
2017	147
2018	177
2019	211
2020	203
2021	255
2022	207

TOTAL REVENUE

Bayern’s position as the leading and most successful club in Germany sets them massively apart from other Bundesliga clubs, but the other two areas of development - matchday and broadcasting - are capped by European performance as well as the favourable relationship German teams have with their fans, and how they sell tickets.