It is a great bug-bear of English football fans that the Premier League is constantly referred to as a ‘product’. This is only to be expected, however, especially with increasingly lucrative television deals, expensive club sponsorships and spiralling player wages forcing clubs to prioritise financial success in the modern age.

The advent of Sky and cable television and has triggered a golden age in English football, at least from the perspective of club and player earning potential.

With this in mind, here are five financial facts that will offer you an incredible insight into the national game and England’s top flight.

EPL wages rose by 9% in 2013

Back at the end of 2013, EPL wages enjoyed their highest ever increase of 9%. This has risen further since then, but this was the single most significant year in terms of growth. This elevated the average wage of a top-flight footballer to £30,000, and this increase was largely attributed to the agreement of a new television deal worth in excess of £3 billion. Given that this has since been dwarfed, we can expect a dramatic rise again over the course of the 2015-2016 season.

Promotion to the EPL is worth £120 Million

Newly promoted Bournemouth recently announced a sponsorship deal with Mansion Group (Casino.com, Mansion Casino) , which is set to be worth a considerable sum of money.

>See also: Manchester Utd football’s first $1bn brand

Along with an estimated £100 million in television revenue and a further £20 million in commercial income, this helps to explain why promotion to the EPL from the Championship is worth a staggering £120 million and more.

It also explains why relegation can be such a devastating event for some clubs.

The Latest EPL deal was worth £5.1 Billion

The latest television deal for screening rights for the EPL was worth a record-breaking £5.1 billion, as both Sky Sports and BT Sports competed aggressively for the seven live game and highlights packages available.

This will in distributed among the top-flight and recently relegated clubs, while in excess of £54 million has also been ear-marked for grassroots development across all English academies. 

>Related: Andy Murray serves up tech investment with Seedrs role

Chelsea are the first EPL Champions to Record a Profit in Ten years

In winning the EPL last season, Chelsea became the first champions to win the league while generating a profit in ten years. Only Manchester United’s title winning side of 2006-2007 (which recorded a minimal net spend of £1.2 million) has come even close to matching this achievement in this time, although the Blues are unlikely to match this again if they are victorious next year.

Wayne Rooney is the League’s highest paid player with a weekly wage of £300,000

Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney always divides opinion in terms of his greatness, but the forward has undoubtedly enjoyed a stellar career since his debut as a precocious 16 year old in 2002.

This has seen him emerge as the highest paid player in the EPL, after negotiating a £250,000 weekly salary in the autumn of 2010 and agreeing a further hike to £300,000 three years later. This is unlikely to rise again, however, especially with Rooney committed to a five year deal and now aged over 30.

Further reading: Five-a-side – growing the smaller global game