The English Premier League might not be the best in Europe anymore, but it certainly pays better than the rest to its members thanks to the money coming from TV broadcasting. Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund made a combined €50.9 million from the Bundesliga’s TV rights this season. QPR, the worst team in the EPL, made £39.7 million, or around €47 million.

While some might say this shows the power of the EPL and its ability to keep even small and failing clubs strong financially (as long as its owner doesn’t rob them blind), while enabling them to make themselves a lucrative destination for players from the French, Dutch and Portuguese league, even if they’re coming from stronger clubs. Even some of the decent teams in Italy can’t afford to pay as much as some bottom feeders in the Premier League.

But the scale doesn’t necessarily mean QPR are better off for it. It’s been said more than once that the sane economical structure of the German Bundesliga is what enables the teams to remain profitable (14 out of 18 Bundesliga clubs turned a profit in 2012), and the 51% rule keeps the clubs very much in touch with their fans, their desires and prevents a situation of a team spiraling into bankruptcy due to overspending that focuses on a season or two before the owner runs out of money or patience.

Spreading the wealth and the sources of income seems to be much healthier for football and its clubs. There will always be ambitious rich men who do not care for profit but only about winning, and can actually afford to sustain that kind of spending and losses for a few years. The FIFA Fair Play rules were made to avoid such deviations from natural order, but there are plenty of ways to get around it, as Manchester City and PSG are showing us over the last couple of seasons.

QPR might be making a lot of money in the short run, but it hasn’t brought the club anywhere. Meanwhile, Bayern Munich and Dortmund are both among the most profitable clubs in Europe and this season proving they’re also a couple of the best, if not the best. If getting less money from the TV means keeping a club running a lot more efficiently, I think most Bundesliga teams prefer things to stay the way they are.