European football has always been a lucrative advertising market, with hundreds of commercial deals signed between large companies and sports clubs every year. The front of shirt sponsorships, which bring promotion to the next level, is considered the most attractive contracts. For decades now, major brands like Emirates Airlines and American Express have been placing their ads on football jerseys.
Soccer shirt ads allow companies to reach global audiences and, thus, increase their sales and revenues. These deals, however, come at a steep price. The Sportcal magazine reports that in the 2020/2021 season, front-of-shirt (FOS) deals in the fifteen biggest European football clubs amounted to $1.44 billion annually. The biggest FOS contract – $81.78 million per season – with Emirates airlines belongs to Real Madrid. British clubs, especially members of the English Premier League (EPL), tend to have the best FOS deals in the market. Some of the League’s sponsors include Chevrolet, American Express, and Emirates.
So, in this article, we will focus on English football sponsorships. Keep reading to know more about jersey kit sponsorships and how much Premier League clubs get for the front-of-shirt deals per season.
History of football sponsorships in England
With its advanced football culture, England is a prominent market for advertisers. Minor soccer competitions like Watney and Texaco Cup attracted sponsors back in the early 1970s. But the first major football sponsorship in GB took place in 1982 when the League Cup signed a £2 million deal with the UK Dairy Council. The Cup later adopted the sponsor’s name and was called the Milk Cup.
The next season, in 1983, the English Football League was sponsored by Canon with a £3.3 million contract, which lasted for three years. Now, every major English soccer league has a sponsor, attracting the most prominent brands, like McDonald’s, Emirates, and Coca-Cola.
Front of shirt sponsorship deals in England date back to the 1970s
Jersey kit sponsorships are the most expensive and the most desired football deals. In England, the first shirt sponsorship deal was signed between Coventry City and automobile company Talbot in 1974. Liverpool was the first to get a major front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with the Japanese brand Hitachi. And by 1987, every English football club in a league had a front-of-shirt sponsor.
Types of football jersey sponsorships
There are three main types of football shirt sponsorships. Let’s review all of them below.
Traditional front-of-shirt deals
The most well-known jersey sponsorship is a front-of-shirt deal, where a brand logo or name is featured in the center of the football shirt. Typically, these contracts are obtained by large companies, as prices for front-of-shirt ads begin at millions of dollars.
Arm sleeve sponsorships
In the last few years, companies have begun purchasing ads on the sleeves of football shirts. Well-known brands that have signed arm sleeve deals with English league clubs in 2019/2020 include:
- Western Union (Liverpool);
- Angry Birds (Everton);
- Visit Rwanda (Arsenal);
- Hyundai (Chelsea);
- Virgin Media (Southampton).
Kit sponsorships
Clothing brands that provide football clubs with sportswear are considered jersey kit sponsors, or technical sponsors. The company’s name or logo is featured on the shirt as well. Big league clubs, like members of EPL, get their clothes from the industry giants, like Adidas, Nike, Puma, and New Balance. It is also a great promo for the brand, as millions of football fans watch footballers play in their sportswear. In the 2019/2020 season, Premier League clubs were sponsored by eight well-known brands.
How much do Premier League clubs make of front-of-shirt deals?
The English Premier League is one of the most popular football leagues, with an estimated 529.4 million fans across the globe. Billions of viewers from all over the world watch EPL matches. So, it is unsurprising that the biggest companies in the world are willing to pay millions of pounds for shirt sponsorship deals. Statista informs that in the 2019/2020 season, twenty EPL clubs earned nearly £350 million just from the front-of-shirt contracts.
From 2014/2015 to 2020/2021, Manchester United had the most lucrative shirt sponsorship with automobile manufacturer Chevrolet. Man Utd was getting £64 million per season from this contract. The second-biggest deal also belongs to the Manchester team – Man City. The football team earns £45 million per season from UAE-based airline Etihad. At the same time, Brighton’s contract with American Express costs only £1.5 million per year. FOS sponsorship is, however, only a part of a larger partnership between the credit card company and the football club.
10 out of 20 Premier League clubs are sponsored by a gambling company
Gambling companies dominate the shirt sponsorship in the English Premier League. In the 2019/2020 season, ten of twenty EPL clubs featured a logo of iGaming firm on their shirt. And in the 2021/2022 season, the trend persists, as 45% of shirt sponsors come from the gambling industry. This, however, is likely to change, as the UK government plans to ban front-of-shirt betting sponsorship in an attempt to prevent gambling harm. If the legislation comes into force, starting from 2023, sportsbooks will no longer be able to sponsor football clubs. Cryptocurrency is also a rising trend, when it comes to shirt deals. The most prominent partnerships this season include:
- Watford – Stake.com and Dogecoin;
- Wolverhampton Wanderers – Bitci.com (arm sleeve deal)
At the same time. EPL’s “big six”, opt for more traditional sponsors, like automobile, finance, or air travel companies.
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