In 2023, Premier League clubs had a collective agreement to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts from the 26/27 season onwards. Which essentially mean that the clubs can still have betting / gambling sponsors for another couple of years (including 24/25 season). And it is definitely showing!
Over the years, being the most-watched football league in the world, Premier league has become one of the most sought-after properties for brands looking to leverage the clubs’ global fan platform
As the season begins, we take a look at the three most valuable assets of the Premier League clubs, kit, front-of-shirt and sleeve sponsorships’ spread over brands and industrial categories
Kit Sponsorship
7 kit manufacturers share the kit responsibilities of the twenty Premier League teams. Adidas leads the tally with seven teams followed by Nike with 5 and Umbro with 4. There’s a new ‘kit-on-the-block’ with Chinese retail brand Sudu entering as the apparel manufacturer for Wolverhampton. Interestingly, both Sudu and Wolverhampton are owned by Fosun Sports Group
When we speak about kit sponsorship deals, one of the first things that comes to mind is the amount of money they can generate for football clubs. Typically, it works in two ways, one is a fixed component of the corporate sponsorship which is the larger part and the second part is share from merchandise which is customized to each club but typically lies between 5% to 20% (20% the highest, reportedly for Liverpool). The sponsorships for the ‘big six’ teams within the Premier League are amongst the highest globally. The chart shows the estimated value of the deals
Shirt Sponsorship
Gambling sponsors, yes, the one we spoke about in the beginning, are ruling. Premier League clubs and the gambling sponsors are making the most of it for now. 11 clubs, that’s 55% clubs have them on the front-of-shirt as their sponsor, though, this does not include any of the big six (Chelsea FC yet to finalise) and Brighton. Financial services is the next most seen category with 3 clubs followed by Airlines with 2. Music, Technology & Event Management Agency with one club each complete the list
We have discussed about Ed Sheeran & Ipswich Town partnership earlier, certainly one of the most interesting association. A lifelong fan, Sheeran has even bought a minority stake in the club before the start of the season. Ipswich Town’s front-of-shirt bears the logo of Sheeran’s Mathematics Tour
Sleeve Sponsorship
Sleeve is the most versatile of the asset category with 11 unique industries sponsoring led by financial services and tourism industries. Interestingly, tourism industry as a category saw a 67% increase in sleeve partnerships from last season. Gambling makes a presence here too with Crystal Palace having a gambling brand as a sleeve sponsor
Another interesting point is the increasing presence of American brands from two in 23/24 to 6 in 25/26. That is consistent with the increasing American ownerships (50% of the Premier League clubs have some form of US participation either through VC or private equity holding companies or through private capital as individual) and the growing viewership interests in the US
In Conclusion
Aggregate Premier League clubs’ commercial revenue reached a high of €2.25bn in 22/23 of which a majority would be from sponsorships. There’re good reasons behind it, from most watched to most engaged, it provides a complete marketing package. The key is for the clubs to maximise the opportunities
While the ‘big six’ have been quite successful in solidifying their brand making it attractive and viable for the sponsors, the challenge is for the other clubs to build their marketing and create a stronger brand appeal. More so for the 60% clubs engaged with gambling sponsors. As the choice runs out in two years, it’ll be interesting to see which category fills the gap
