TOP 5 Most Lucrative Shirt Sponsorships In The Premier League After Chelsea’s Deal With Infinite Athlete

Jack Grealish playing for Manchester City

David Tully

9 months ago

Categories: Galleries, West Ham United News

Tags: Arsenal, aston villa, Brentford, Brighton, Chelsea, Everton, Fulham, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Newcastle United, Sheffield United, Southampton, Spurs, West Ham, Wolves

In today’s post, we will be looking at the most lucrative front-of-shirt sponsorships in the Premier League.

Brand recognition is a key driver of sales and having your company’s name emblazoned across club shirts that are worn by fans around the world, in addition to being shown on TV screens every weekend, is great for advertising.

It is, therefore, not surprising that businesses spend an exorbitant amount to be a title sponsor for the top clubs in English football.

Press the next page as we list the five Premier League teams with the highest-paying sponsors (figures sourced from Sports Pro Media).

5) Tottenham – £40m a year

We could have gone with Arsenal in our top 5 as they have a similar sponsorship deal with Emirates but Spurs’s agreement with AIA lasts until 2027 and is worth £320m.

The Hong Kong based multinational insurance firm signed a new eight-year contract with Tottenham back in 2019.

They had originally been the sponsor for cup competitions during the 2013/14 season before starting their period as the sole title sponsor at the beginning of the 2014/15 campaign.

At the end of their current agreement, AIA’s association with Spurs would have lasted 13 years.

4) Manchester United – £48m a year

The Red Devils broke records when they signed a $80m-a-year contract with General Motors back in 2012.

Chevrolet was used as the title sponsor for seven years before GM opted against renewing its seven-year deal back in 2019.

German software company TeamViewer took over, but United received significantly less cash than their previous agreement.

It has since emerged that TeamViewer also want out of their contract early. It currently runs until 2026 but they will be replaced as the main sponsor if United find a replacement.

=2) Chelsea – £50m a year*

It’s been a rollercoaster ride in terms of Chelsea’s attempts to find a replacement for mobile network operator 3, whose contract expired at the end of last season.

The Blues originally reached an agreement with Paramount + but the Premier League vetoed it as it would have conflicted with the terms of the TV rights deal.

Betting firm Stake were then considered but that deal also quickly fell by the wayside when there was strong opposition from fans.

Chelsea have reportedly ended up signing a contract with US firm Infinite Athlete, although it hasn’t been officially announced yet.

=2) Liverpool – £50m a year

For many years the Reds shirt was emblazoned with the logo of Danish beer manufacturer Carlsberg but that sponsorship came to an end in 2010.

British merchant bank Standard Chartered became the main sponsor and their latest contract, which was signed in 2022, means they will stay on the front of Liverpool kits until at least 2027.

Their deal was the second-highest in English football, prior to Chelsea’s agreement with Infinite Athlete.

We still don’t know the final terms of the Blues’ sponsorship deal, so their placement on this list is provisional.

1) Manchester City – £68m a year

Since the arrival of the Abu Dhabi Group 15 years ago, the Citizens have been sponsored by Etihad Airways.

The Eastlands stadium has also been rebranded with the Etihad name and, combined, the two deals bring in a wealth of income for the Premier League champions.

Both contracts are controversial and we won’t get into the politics regarding Financial Fairplay in this post.

To sum things up, City have, by far, the most lucrative front-of-shirt sponsor in English football.