The way to make money out of a football club has never been about profits, more about awarding contracts to your own private companies for goods/services used by the club, or simply hanging on to your investment and seeing the value rise.
Around the start of the premier league era Man United was valued at around £8m. They almost certainly wouldn't have hit the heights they have financially without a huge spend in those early 90's but even if they had only just done enough to stay in the league they would be worth ten times that now at least.
One change could be the new premier league FFP rules. Wages can only go up by £4m a year plus the increase in your commercial contracts. So this new TV wedge can't be spent on the players, it will never get spent on the supporters so owners might start making some serious money in profits out of football clubs.
Some people might scoff, but I reckon in the next 20 years, Sheikh Mansour would have made more out of Man City than he's spent. And he'll have a club valued at well over £1bn for his troubles.