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Why shirt sponsorship is a sure bet

Shirt sponsorship deals can bring in as much as £50million ($60.7m) a season, with sleeve and training kit partners widening income streams further still. England’s top-flight sides have come a long way from the photocopying and timber firms on their shirts in the 1990s.   Seven of the current sponsors are betting firms, a relationship that concerns many fans.

But The Athletic recently reported that as many as half of the 20 Premier League clubs were still to confirm their principle commercial partner for 2023-24, including Chelsea, Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Since 2006, when Arsenal moved to a new home carrying the same branding, Emirates has been on the front of their shirts. That long-running partnership was last renewed in 2018 and an extended five-year contract, said to be worth £40million per season, is due to expire in 18 months. The commercial market will now be explored for improved terms by the Premier League’s current leaders.

No club in the Premier League has a longer commercial deal in place than Brighton. American Express, whose UK headquarters are based in the town and also own the naming rights to the club’s stadium, signed a 12-year deal in 2019 said to be worth £100million, or £8million per season. That is in place until the end of the 2030-31 season.

One of the most lucrative shirt sponsorships in the Premier League is at Liverpool, it is thought the deal is worth close to £50million a season. The partnership had been due to expire this summer, but a four-year extension promises to keep Standard Chartered Bank on Liverpool’s kits until the 2026-27 season.

Perhaps the most interesting deal to be struck ahead of next season is at Newcastle. The existing deal with Fun88 had been due to run until 2025 but was terminated early, with Newcastle pursuing a more lucrative partner.  Noon — backed by the club’s majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund — is already the sleeve sponsor and another partner with Saudi links is expected. Newcastle have huge commercial ground to make up on their top four rivals and this will need to be a significant deal.

The life insurance company AIA has been on the front of Tottenham’s kits since 2013 and an eight-year deal struck in 2019 will extend their partnership through to the end of 2027.  The deal is thought to be worth in the region of £40million a season to Tottenham and helped the north London side bring in greater commercial revenues last season than either Chelsea or Arsenal.

Betway, the online gambling firm, has been on West Ham’s shirts since 2015 and still has another two and a half years to run.  Thought has been given to packaging up a sponsor with the naming rights for the London Stadium, something that could inflate the £10million per year currently being paid.

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