The fact that football as an industry is swimming in cash at the upper-echelons has long been well known.

Every-growing sums of cash at the pinnacle of the sport in England and Europe have defied the world economy that has had a few ups and downs, to the say the least.

Sky and BT are free to do what they want with their cash mountains – if they decide splurging a combined £5.1bn (which is roughly the same cost as an aircraft carrier, with a few fighter jets thrown in for good measure) then that is their right.

However, with the likes of Richard Scudamore pontificating that it the Premier League clubs do not have an obligation for things such as paying a living wage to all staff members, one key factor is being forgotten.

All the money that pours into the Premier League comes from the same place. Fans.

The people who subscribe to watch the Premier League on TV are the same people who buy the clubs’ tickets, eat overpriced burgers at the matches, wear the team’s colours and so on.

So while the amount of cash grows, the source of it all is being squeezed harder than ever.

At the moment, Richard Scudamore and his ilk feel bullet proof – as proven by the ridiculous idea of resurrecting the 39th game proposal – but if you don’t make hay when the sun shines, you’ll be looking pretty stupid should things go wrong.

And if you think that’ll never, ever happen, you’re an even bigger fool. Leeds, Portsmouth – even our very own Saints – are all proof that you’re only ever so far from the precipice.

But the planning I’m talking about now is not necessarily a financial one – the clubs should be doing that anyway, provided the financial departments aren’t being run by a team of baboons bashing calculators.

No, what they have an opportunity for now is the building up a stock of goodwill.

Unless you have your head in the clouds – which is always a risk in football – everyone knows recent times have not been all that easy for anyone without a trust fund or sizeable property portfolio.

But this £5bn deal – which let’s not forget will be followed by foreign TV deals which will swell it to somewhere in the region of £8-9bn – gives the clubs plenty of room to make meaningful gestures to the communities they grew out of.

Now, it could be reduced ticket prices, cheaper merchandise, huge investment in local facilities, sharing more with the lower leagues or even just simply making sure no staff have to live below the breadline.

It’s an easy PR win for not just the clubs but the Premier League as a whole and has the effect of suddenly making fans feel part of the club again rather than just consumers of a product.

To use Saints as an example, in 2012/13, TV revenue was roughly three times the amount made on matchdays. So for every £1 made from a ticket or pie, £3 was made from TV – the new TV deal will see that gap only widen.

No-one is saying this needs to impact the playing side of any club, but while times are good, rather than thinking about how much money you’ve made, think about how you can use it to make things better.