Burnley chairman Mike Garlick insists Manchester United, Liverpool and the rest of the Premier League's superpowers have a responsibility to the top flight's smaller clubs -- and has urged them not to pursue any bid to widen the financial gulf between rich and poor.
Garlick told ESPN FC that the surprise rise of his club this season is proof of the unique global appeal of the English top flight.
Sean Dyche's team can climb into the Champions League positions with a victory against Stoke City at Turf Moor on Tuesday night, potentially leap-frogging established heavyweights such as Liverpool, Arsenal and Tottenham to reach the top four.
Burnley have already surprised the elite this season by winning at Chelsea and earning draws away at Liverpool and Spurs.
But with the top-six clubs recently failing in an attempt to claim a bigger slice of £1 billion of overseas broadcasting revenue, Garlick says it is crucial that the Premier League resists further attempts to change its model in order to retain its priceless unpredictability.
"It's important that we stick together, as a unit of 20 clubs," Garlick told ESPN FC. "If you look at the success of the Premier League over the last 20 years, it is down to the quality of the overall league.
"You have Manchester United and Liverpool -- the big brand names. Wherever you go in the world, be it Singapore or Hong Kong, who do people name? They name Liverpool, Man United, Man City.
"Do they name Burnley? No, they don't, but as a collective and as a division, on any day, Burnley can beat Chelsea away and be 3-0 up at half-time on the first day of the season.
"Because the finances are relatively close, the ratios between ourselves and the Uniteds and Chelseas, compared to the Spanish, Italian and German leagues, where the ratios are significantly different, means you have the excitement and you don't get that in a lot of the other leagues.
"People buy the product overseas and one of the reasons they buy it is to see a shock and, occasionally, a shock happens.
"People ask: 'What's the aim? To stay in the division or finish sixth or seventh?' Well the more money they [top six] get, the harder that is going to be [for the rest] to achieve.
"So I think that the more balance we can have, certainly in terms of the TV finances, the better it is for the overall product."
Despite constant speculation surrounding an expanded Champions League or even a European Super League for the biggest clubs, Garlick says that the so-called elite would discover that the grass is not necessarily greener elsewhere.
"People talk about breakaway leagues or extending the Champions League, to make it longer," Garlick said. "I think the 'Big Five' like being the 'Big Five' in the Premier League, but if they go into a European league, they won't be the 'Big Five'."