England's Premiership soccer players will earn more than 1 billion pounds ($1.97 billion) for the first time next season thanks to television, sponsorship and merchandising deals, a top accountancy firm said on Thursday.
Leading players could command as much as 200,000 pounds per week -- or a record 10 million pounds a year -- over the next three seasons, accountancy firm Deloitte said in its Annual Review of Football Finance report.
The Premiership is the richest soccer league on the planet with leading clubs like Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal enjoying a following among millions of fans around the world with more than 200 countries showing Premiership matches.