In 2016-17 each Premier League club is guaranteed a minimum of £170m over three years, even if they finish rock bottom. That's enough to buy you 1.4bn bananas if you were so inclined.
It's obvious, then, why people are interested in buying those teams. But what about the owners of clubs further down the league pyramid?
The prize money is so much lower, yet the outlay on wages and maintenance is still so great. Surely that's a fool's game?
But just imagine the potential earnings if that club have a great season or two, and football finance expert Rob Wilson from Sheffield Hallam University believes there are two main reasons for owning one.
"We look back historically at the 1960s and 1970s - we'd probably just have the one model with the local businessmen done good that wanted to do something with their local football team," he told BBC Sport.
"We've moved into this era where people have started to see a good financial return on investment. So in the academic literature, we have split that model into those 'trophy-asset owners' and then private investors that are there to make some sort of financial gain from the football club."
So how does this academic model look in the real world?
The local owner
Accrington Stanley has never been the most glamorous name in football, but in an old Lancashire mill town it provides more than just 90 minutes of entertainment on a Saturday afternoon.
"Accrington Stanley is split into three parts," said owner Andy Holt, whose side lost in the League Two play-off semi-final to AFC Wimbledon.
"You have the football club, Accrington academy, where you have 120 kids learning to play football, and the Accrington Community Trust that helps 10,000 people a year with things like social isolation, mental and sexual health, does BTEC courses and all sorts."
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