Chelsea will not have a shirt sponsor on the front of their kit against Manchester City as they search for a new deal.
For the second Premier League season in a row, the Blues begin their campaign without a front-of-shirt sponsorship deal.
Last season’s sponsor Infinite Athlete signed up to continue their one-year deal throughout pre-season but have not extended into the first competitive match of 2024-25.
This only adds to the wider sense of on and off-pitch chaos at Stamford Bridge, where over £1.3bn has been spent on players across four transfer windows.
Why don’t Chelsea have a shirt sponsor?
This is all an issue of long-term planning and Chelsea’s continued struggle to align their performances with their ambition.
In 2023-24, Chelsea began the season without a front-of-shirt sponsor as they struggled to secure a one-year deal.
The club believed that if they could secure qualification for the Champions League ahead of 2024-25, they could sign a bumper long-term deal which exceeds to Arsenal’s Emirates contract – worth £50m per season – or Manchester City’s £400m, 10-year Etihad agreement.
The Athletic reported Chelsea were seeking a long-term deal in the realm of £60m per year for both the men’s and women’s team.
They eventually found a £40m deal with Infinite Athlete, a company with links to Chelsea owner Todd Boehly, but underperformance last season has left the club in exactly the same position again.
But both brands and clubs are reticent to sign one-year deals – the exposure is not often worth the short-term expense.
Why is a long-term sponsorship deal important?
Securing a major sponsorship deal is crucial to Chelsea’s long-term plans as they aim to maximise their commercial potential and boost revenue.
Revenue will soon become fundamental to the Premier League’s financial regulations, with the proposed changes to Profitability and Sustainability Regulations (PSR) centring on a squad-cost ratio.
This is calculated by dividing a club’s revenue by its wage budget and player amortisation costs. As a result, the higher the revenue, the more a team can spend on wages and player transfers.
If Chelsea could secure the long-term sponsorship deal they want, the ownership could go a long way to protecting themselves from potential future PSR breaches.
Who are their potential shirt sponsors?
One thing is for sure – Chelsea will not sign a new deal with Infinite Athlete.
Riyadh Air, the airline set to be launched by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have been linked with a potential multi-year deal – like Manchester City and Arsenal’s contracts with airlines.
But as Chelsea are not in the Champions League, the two parties’ valuations are currently too far apart.
From 2026-27, gambling sponsors will no longer be allowed on the front of shirts in the Premier League, which heavily restricts the pool of potential long-term deals.
Chelsea also announced a one-year sleeve sponsorship deal with Fever, a “technology platform for entertainment discovery” ahead of the first game of the Premier League season. It is unclear whether this partnership could develop into a longer-term deal depending on results in 2024-25.
from Football - inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/FOG5v9n
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