Premier League Shirt Sponsorship Deals grow by 181%

Premier League Shirt Sponsorship is at a huge premium this season. Premier League clubs have seen record growth of 181% for combined shirt sponsorship deals, with the 20 clubs generating $367.3 million for the 2017-18 season, from an aggregate of $130.9 million in year 2010-11.

The biggest deal in the Premier League is held by Manchester United. The club has a record deal worth $61.2m a year with Chevrolet. Chelsea’s signing with Yokohama (tyres) remains second biggest at $52.15m per annum.

Manchester City’s deal with Etihad has leapt to $45.6m per year via a ‘step increase’ in their contract while Tottenham’s renegotiated their contract with AIA for $45.6m-a-year, Sportingintelligence has reported.

Spurs, the finalists for the past two seasons and will be moving into a new stadium in London soon. The performance and club’s new address are two attractive points to sponsors. Liverpool’s deal has also grown with Standard Chartered to $39.11m a year.

A majority of the 20 clubs have seen increased deals for the forthcoming season – West Ham and Everton registering the biggest leaps among the ‘middling clubs’ via new contracts with gambling firms. The international appeal of the Premier League is demonstrated with 16 clubs having sponsors with overseas headquarters in countries as diverse as the USA, China, Japan, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, Malta, Kenya and The Philippines.

Everton recently announced their new shirt sponsor with a Kenyan-based online betting firm SportPesa – the first African company to sponsor an English Premier League club when they inked a deal with Hull last season; Hull were relegated but the gambling firm play on in the top flight.

Liverpool, Southampton, Stoke and Watford are the only EPL clubs to boast of British-based sponsors.
Despite a blanket ban on gambling within football, nine Premier League teams will bear gambling companies’ brands on their jerseys this coming season. A new sector of sponsor enters the market with West Brom, now sponsored by Chinese eco-town builders, Palm.

Not included in the figures in the table above are new deals for sleeve sponsorship, starting for the first time for 2017-18. Deals are still being concluded but Manchester City’s $13m-a-year deal with Nexen of South Korea is the biggest of its kind in the PL, by far, while Swansea, Stoke, Watford and Huddersfield are among clubs to have deals for sleeves with different firms from their main sponsors. They are typically worth hundreds of thousands per season, not millions.