Gross expenditure of Premier League summer transfers exceed £1bn for first time

Clubs at the upper end of the table are investing significantly, so their commercial revenue growth has enabled increased spending

Premier League clubs' gross expenditure totalled £1.165bn, a 34% increase compared to the previous record of £870m last summer, according to an analysis by Deloitte's Sports Business Group issued on Thursday.
Dan Jones, partner in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte, said that this is the fourth consecutive year that the record for Premier League clubs' summer transfer spending has been broken.
Jones added that at the start of the 2013/14 season, the summer transfer spending record stood at £500m, and the fact that this record has more than doubled since then is a clear indicator of the league's financial growth.
"As has been the case for a number of years now, the increases in broadcast revenue—with the 2016/17 season being the first of the new broadcast deal cycle—is the principal driver of this spending power. The increase in the value of these deals and the equal revenue distribution of these by the Premier League has again allowed clubs throughout the division to invest significantly in this summer's market, Jones noted.
"For those clubs traditionally at the upper end of the table who have been investing most significantly, their commercial revenue growth has also been a critical enabler of the increases in spending," he added.
Premier League clubs have committed to about £1.165bn in player transfer fees in the summer 2016 transfer window—above the previous record £870m gross expenditure that was set last summer. The average gross expenditure for a Premier League club this summer was £60m, according to the Deloitte statement.
Premier League clubs concluded player acquisitions amounting to a total of £155m. The previous record, set during the summer 2013 window, was £140m.
Moreover, gross expenditure by Premier League clubs for calendar year 2016 has also set a new record. Premier League clubs spent a total of £1.34bn on acquiring players during both the January window—which accounted for £175m—and that of this summer.
Further, gross transfer fees to overseas clubs from Premier League clubs were £720m—an increase of 23% compared to £585m in summer 2015. This represented 62% of aggregate gross transfer expenditure by Premier League clubs, as compared with 67% in summer 2015.
"Premier League clubs' net transfer expenditure was £685m in summer 2016—comprising the net amount that flows to overseas clubs (£630m) and Football League clubs (£55m)—higher than the previous record of £460m set last summer," the statement read. "Since the introduction of the transfer window system, gross expenditure on player transfers has exceeded £8.6bn, with over 80% of this being spent in the summer transfer windows."