Money, Money, Money: Premier League Shirt Sponsorship Deals

The Premier League has become one of the most lucrative competitions in world sport with the financial figures involved truly mind-blowing.

Shirt sponsorship deals are one of the many revenue generating avenues that top clubs take advantage of with the current 20 Premier League teams raking in over £220m this season alone.

Unsurprisingly, 13-time Premier League champions Manchester United lead the way with the Red Devils coming towards the end of the first year of their seven-year deal with American car giants Chevrolet which is worth a staggering £47m per season.

Defending champions Chelsea may be enduring a disastrous season on the pitch but they took full advantage of their title win last year after agreeing a five-year deal with Japanese tyre manufacturers Yokohama worth around £40m per season.

Coming in at third place in the money table is Arsenal with the Gunners in the second year of their shirt sponsorship deal with long-term partners Fly Emirates, which is reportedly worth £30m-a-year to the North London club.

The ‘big three’ account for well over half of all the entire league’s shirt sponsorship earnings and there is a huge gulf between the likes of United, Chelsea and Arsenal when compared to some of the so-called smaller teams.

Crystal Palace, for example, are paid just £5m-per-season as part of their agreement with Mansion Group – who own a number of top online gaming websites including Casino.com – while Bournemouth’s deal with the same company is worth just £750,000 a year.

When you consider that Chelsea are currently just three points ahead of Bournemouth in the table, it’s clear to see that Mansion Group are getting great value for money from their investment so far, while Yokohama may be regretting signing-up to such a lucrative deal with the struggling Stamford Bridge outfit.

With billions continuing to be poured in to the Premier League through lucrative television rights’ and commercial deals, it’s safe to assume that shirt sponsorship deals are also going to continue to rise over the coming years and it won’t be long before a club such as Man Utd will be bringing in well over £50-£60m each season just from their shirt deals.