English Premier League teams spent a record £530 million on players including Fernando Torres and Owen Hargreaves this year after boosting broadcast income and attracting overseas investors, Deloitte & Touche said.
"The rewards for remaining in the Premier League are greater than ever," said Alex Byars, a senior consultant at Deloitte's Sports Business Group. "Avoiding relegation is crucial as the financial gap between the top two divisions will be wider than ever in 2007-08."
The club finishing last among the 20 Premiership teams this season will receive £27 million in television income.
Net spending on players by Premiership clubs was £140 million more than in 2006, less than the £300 million the league will receive in broadcast payments this year, said Paul Rawnsley, director of Deloitte's Sports Business Group.
That suggested wage rises might swallow up at least some of the remainder, Deloitte said.
After the Premiership, the biggest-spending division was Spain's Primera Liga.
Real Madrid, the biggest team in the world by revenue, spent £80 million during the off-season, more than any team in Europe.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid each invested £50 million in their squads.
Unlike in England, teams in Spain negotiate their own broadcast rights. Madrid and Barcelona would earn about £100 million a season from 2008-09, about twice the amount the highest-paid Premier League club could expect to receive, said Alan Switzer, a director in the Sports Business Group at Deloitte.
Italian, German and French teams contributed to spending of about £1 billion by Europe's five biggest leagues during the transfer period that ended on August 31, Deloitte said.