The recession proof character of the Premier League is shown once again by the fact that shirt sponsorship deals have soared this season. A study by Sporting Intelligence shows that the value of the deals is nearly £100m, up £71.8m from last season.
The recession proof character of the Premier League is shown once again by the fact that shirt sponsorship deals have soared this season. A study by Sporting Intelligence shows that the value of the deals is nearly £100m, up £71.8m from last season.
However, this global total is very dependent on three deals: at Liverpool and Manchester United (each worth £20m) and at Spurs (worth £10m). Aston Villa have replaced their former arrangement with the charity Acorns which earned them nothing financially with a £5m a year deal with FxPro (who are also sponsoring Fulham). Wolves have also done well to increase the value of their deal to £1.1m.
Once again the figures show the gulf between the top clubs and the rest. Seven clubs are on under £1m a year with Blackpool receiving the smallest amount (£500,000). However, for West Bromwich Albion the £750,000 a year they are receiving from Homeserve is an improvement on the last two years when they were without a shirt sponsor.
The biggest loser is Newcastle United. Despite winning promotion to the Premiership financial troubles at state-owned Northern Rock means that the value of their sponsorship has declined by £2.3m a year.
The figures also show how important gambling companies have become, accounting for five sponsorships. 188Bet is sponsoring Bolton and Wigan. Some analysts think that if it wasn’t for gambling firms smaller clubs would have seen a decline in the value of their sponsorships. For such a firm sponsoring a smaller club is a cost effective way of getting television exposure in Asia.
The full list of sponsorships can be found here.