This is not to protect Premier League teams, this is to protect smaller league teams. Most Premier League teams operate at a profit, especially the smaller ones, due to the huge TV revenues.
For Americans who don't know, there are over 100 full time professional football (soccer) teams in the England alone, and they're relatively well supported. Here's the attendances for today's games in League 2, averaging about 4,000. League 2 is the 4th division in the UK, the worst fully professional division (Premiership > Championship > League 1 > League 2.... it used to be just division 1, 2, 3 & 4, but marketing). Sheffield Utd, in League 1, got 20,000 today.
I think one of the big differences between US sport and just about everywhere else is that there's promotion and relegation just about everywhere else. Teams in the US can be completely shit, and it can be an advantage because they get good draft picks the next season. If you're shit in England, you get booted down a league, whoever you are.
p.s. I'm a Colchester Utd fan (League 1).