Football is arguably the biggest sport on the planet, and the UK is home to some of its biggest leagues.
The English Premier League is now the world’s richest league and has most of the world’s powerful corporations associated with it. Sponsorship is inevitable as the league games are broadcast on every continent in the world and feature players who are global superstars.
Just How Much Football Clubs Earn From Sponsorship Deals
Sponsorship as a Way of Earning Funds for Football Clubs
Shirt sponsorship is the most common form of sponsorship through which top football clubs earn from. From huge deals such as Manchester United’s £64 million deal with Chevrolet to Brighton and Hove Albion’s £1.5 million deal with American Express. There are no limits as to how much football clubs can earn from sponsorship.
Half of the funding companies are from Asia, demonstrating how England’s top flight has a global attraction. And since the Premier League has a huge foreign audience, these overseas sponsors have little to worry about with the endorsement, despite not being based in the UK.
However, some of the deals have sparked concerns among critics and industry observers. There were several football clubs in the United Kingdom that partnered with non GamStop CasinoGap sites not on the UK self-exclusion available for self-excluded GamStop customers. Another example of such deals includes Southampton’s contract with LD Sports, which is a “brand new sports content, marketing, and entertainment platform” based in China.
Although the deal was worth £7.5 million per year, the Chinese business didn’t have a working English website and hadn’t even launched in China.
Top Sponsors
Overall, the league’s major shirt sponsorship deals are worth £349.1 million per year, which is a £23.5 million increase from the previous season. So what sponsors and deals are responsible for the enormous increase in these annual figures? Let’s look at some of the Premier League‘s top sponsors and the eye-watering amount football clubs earn from sponsorship.
However, note that the figures below don’t include sleeve sponsorship, if a separate company has specifically purchased that space.
Manchester United – Chevrolet (£64 million)
The shirt sponsorship contract between Manchester United and Chevrolet is considered to be the most lucrative in the Premier League. The contract, which was first signed with the American car manufacturing company in 2012, is now valued at £64 million a year.
Recently United announced an extension to the initial deal with General Motors (Chevrolet’s parent company); this extension would allow them to pay the instalment over a longer period as a result of the novel pandemic’s effect on the company. The agreement extends the original deal’s maturity date by six months and is to last until December 31, 2021.
It was added that no significant changes to the sponsorship rights would be implemented; however, the club would continue to hold discussions with multiple potential future sponsors.
Arsenal – Fly Emirates (£45 million)
The sponsorship deal between the North London club and the Dubai-based airline is reportedly worth £40 million a year. Arsenal’s Emirates sponsorship contract is considered the Premier League’s ‘most fitting,’ with nine out of ten of the club’s fans favouring the partnership. A poll also revealed that, from a group of 3,000 fans, 78 per cent had increased awareness about the Dubai-based airline due to their partnership.
West Ham – BetWay (£10 million)
West Ham United signed a partnership deal with Betway back in February 2015, which officially made the leading online gambling platform club’s new main sponsor. The deal, which is tagged the biggest in West Ham’s history, sees the logo of Betway featured on the front part of all of the club’s senior teams training wear and playing shirts. West Ham and Betway have recently extended the partnership for another six years in a rumoured deal worth about £10 million per annum to the club.
That accounts for the biggest sponsorship deal asides from the Premier League top six, reaching £60 million throughout the deal.
Chelsea – Yokohama (£40 million)
Chelsea remains one of the top names in football, and the five-year, £200 million deal the club had with Yokohama (Tyres) also accounts for one of the largest sponsorship deals yet.
Nevertheless, the sponsorship deal comes to an end this season, and it means they have no plans to appear as shirt sponsors in the coming season. Nevertheless, the deal was worth it while it lasted, and Chelsea seemed to have had great benefits.
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