The 2002 J. League season was completed on Nov. 30 after Jubilo Iwata won the league title for the third time by sweeping the two stages, and Sanfrecce Hiroshima and Consadole Sapporo both got relegated to Division Two.
Jubilo's unprecedented success, however, resulted in the cancellation of the two-leg J. League Championship Final, which is usually contested by the stage winners.
As a result the J. League missed out on an estimated income of 300 million yen from sponsorship deals and TV rights for the Championship Final. That figure was to be divided among each of the 28 league clubs after expenses, which is estimated at about 15 million yen per club.