Chelsea revenue: How much they earn from TV, matchday and commercial?

Cameron Smith

• 19 Apr 2023 13:00 CDT
• 4 min read

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.

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.

HOW DO CHELSEA EARN REVENUE?

Chelsea’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.

READ MORE: How much do Man Utd earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

READ MORE: How much do Arsenal earn from TV, matchday and commercial revenue?

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. Chelsea don't have the highest average attendances in the Premier League and this has affected their matchday revenue.

Chelsea’s matchday revenue over the last eight years has fluctuated from a peak in 2015 and 2016 and has settled into a position lower than their Premier League rivals.

The reason for this has been two-fold; their best Champions League season (2021) was severely hampered by coronavirus issues restricting attendances, but in general Chelsea’s stadium needs a serious upgrade.

The attendance is far lower than their equivalent European rivals and this means they are earning €40-€45m less per season. Stamford Bridge’s low attendance, in conjunction with limited hospitality facilities, hold them back and the club has long been on the hunt for a site to build a new stadium, with no luck.

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.

Chelsea’s commercial arm has most definitely grown stronger over time, in line with the rest of football, and their London location does help in that regard. Indeed their commercial revenue for 2022 returned to pre-pandemic levels immediately.

But Chelsea remain well behind the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City in terms of their overall commercial potential, with their best year still nearly half that of the biggest teams in the list.

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.

The size of the foreign deals are directly correlated to how popular the league is in that market. In that respect Chelsea, being from the Premier League, are fortunate to have a number of high value contracts in hundreds of world markets, with notable deals in the USA, Scandinavia and Asia. The EPL’s marketability abroad has made clubs like Chelsea wealthy, with the expansion of that potential likely to continue for years to come.

Chelsea’s Champions League victory in 2021, plus their run to the quarter-finals the next season, and two domestic cup finals, has meant that their broadcasting revenue has reached heights never seen before. It shows the potential of reaching the latter stages of as many competitions as possible and how that can impact this particular revenue stream.

TOTAL REVENUE

Chelsea’s limited matchday revenue and also their inability to truly grow their commercial revenue leaves them lagging a little behind more established rivals. However, their strong broadcasting revenue has been integral, and likely played a significant role in the club’s takeover by Todd Boehly in 2022.