SUM OF ALL FEARS

How much EVERY Premiership club could be in line to lose if Hearts’ SPFL reconstruction plan becomes a reality

NEXT season's Premiership champions will be asked make the biggest financial sacrifice if Ann Budge's league reconstruction plan is to become a reality.

The proposal drawn up by the Hearts owner - with the blessing of Scotland's biggest clubs such as Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen - envisages a financial model where next season's title winners would see their prize money drop from 13.4% of the total fund to 13.02%.

This is a drop of 0.38% - the biggest percentage hit which any club is asked to take in the proposal.

In the short term Hearts argue that ALL top flight sides would be better off as they will forego the parachute payments due to them if they had been relegated by conventional means.

That is equivalent to £300,000 for next year and a potential further £125,000 for the following year if they had remained in the lower divisions.

From next season, there is also a modest rise in the sums available for clubs as the SPFL kick off their new £160m five-year arrangement with Sky Sports - a rise in the total prize pot to over £30million a year, rather than £25m.

But calculated purely on this year's sums, the prize money drop - less any parachute payments - would amount to a shortfall of £100,000 for Celtic, whose prize money would have fallen from £3.35million to £3.25m.

As this year's second placed club, Rangers would have suffered the next biggest drop, with interim chairman Douglas Park seeing his bottom line trimmed from £2.4m to £2.33m, a drop of £67,000.

Third-placed Motherwell's reward for an excellent season would have been just over £2.005m, some £55,000 less than the £2.06m they would originally have been expecting.

Elsewhere in the top six, Aberdeen would have received £1.76m (down from £1.81m), Livingston would have pocketed £1.64m (£1.68m), with St Johnstone £1.5175m (£1.56m).

Luckless Hibs - who dropped out of the top six on average points won - would have got £1.397m (£1.43m), Kilmarnock £1.335m (£1.37m), St Mirren £1.275m (from £1.31m) for ninth, with Ross County £1.215m (£1.25m) in tenth, and Hamilton picking up £1.15m (£1.18m) in 11th.

Hearts would have received £1.092m (down from the £1.12m they would have picked up).

The Tynecastle side explain: "Hearts being relegated will not only cause significant financial damage to Hearts, but will result in other Premiership Clubs funding a £300k parachute payment next season.

"This money, plus any compensation payments agreed, could be much more effectively utilised in the fight for survival."

The biggest beneficiaries are the 13th and 14th placed clubs, in this year's case Dundee United and Inverness Caley Thistle, who find themselves bumped up to Premiership money.

Instead of Dundee United's £562,500 this year, they would receive £850,000, with Scotland's 14th best team in line for a whopping £770,000 compared to the £475,000 Inverness Caledonian Thistle pocketed.

The plan is light on detail as regards promotions and relegations from next season, with merely the suggestion that the current rules on one team being subject to automatic promotion/relegation and a further team entering into a four-team play-off continuing next term.

But Hearts feel championship sides wouldn't be worse off should the proposal come into being.

Under their proposal, prize money for championship and League 1 and League 2 sides would be unchanged, unless clubs vote to admit another two sides - Kelty Hearts and Brora Rangers - into the bottom division.

The statement, however, includes the provision that COVID-19 could cause there to be no promotions or relegations at all NEXT season.

It reads: "Rules governing Promotions and Relegations would continue to apply as at present.

"That said, should disruption caused by COVID-19 be significant in Season 2020/21, resulting in it being impossible to play a full round of fixtures, then it may be appropriate to vote by a simple majority, for no promotions or relegations for that Season only.

"Play-offs competition rules would similarly continue to apply as at present."