As Celtic stands on the brink of successfully defending their title this season, access to the group stages of the Champions League is the big reward for becoming Scottish champions.
With a UEFA bounty worth upwards of £30m awaiting the champions-elect, a lot is riding on the upcoming Glasgow Derby for both sides.
If Celtic win, the league is all but done and dusted. If Rangers come away from Paradise with the three points then it is game on with two games left to go.
So there’s a lot to play for this weekend for glory and financial reasons. And those finances could be affected for next season if the SPFL agrees on the record sponsorship deal that is being reported today.
£10m SPFL deal and how it could affect Celtic
We told you at the weekend how SPFL CEO, Neil Doncaster, spoke about sealing a new league sponsor when the current deal with Cinch runs out at the end of the season.
Doncaster said he was ‘optimistic’ of tying up a deal soon and in a report in The Scottish Sun it appears he might have just done that.
The report claims that a record £10m deal is set to be agreed upon making it the biggest in the league’s history.
The current Cinch deal is worth £1.6m per year. This new deal will mean that figure will rise to £2m per season when the new terms with William Hill kick in.
New SPFL deal and Celtic
Celtic’s earnings from the domestic game are dwarfed by what the club earns from the Champions League and commercial deals.
However, after winning the treble last season, Celtic’s overall earnings from domestic competition was £4.8m.
£3,843,000 from winning the league, £350k for winning the League Cup and £609k from the Scottish Cup win.
Although the prize money from the SPFL will rise when the new deal kicks in, it won’t mean a significant change in the context of the bigger picture.
However, for the look of the game, having a new sponsor is good news and will provide some much-needed funds for the other clubs in the league. But in terms of Celtic, it’s pretty much as you were.