RANKED: Premier League shirt sponsorship deals from cheapest to most expensive
It’s no secret that top-tier football is now a business as much as a sport these days, and few businesses are as big as the Premier League, which is the most watched football division in the world.
With that kind of viewership, annual costs to get a company logo on the players’ shirts range from £1 million to £53 million.
Sports website Total Sportek has done a countdown of the most lucrative shirt sponsorships in the Premier League for the 2015/16 season.
What’s notable is how many betting companies are visible: seven of the top 20 sponsors are gambling websites.
The betting trend trails off at the high-end of the rankings though, as airlines and car makers get in on the game.
Keep scrolling to see the biggest shirt sponsorship deals in the Premier League:
20. Norwich City— Aviva
David Ramos/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £1 million ($1.4 million)
Timeframe: 2012 – 2016
We kick off with Norwich, who are one of three teams on the list to be sponsored by an insurance company. In this case it’s Aviva, which appropriately used to be known as Norwich Union. Sadly for both, the team are relegated to Championship football next season.
19. Watford — 138.com
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £1 million ($1.4 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2016
Watford, a team once co-owned by Elton John, has had a decent season and is set to finish around the middle of the table. 138.com, its sponsor, is a betting company, so get used to seeing them on this list.
18. Crystal Palace — Mansion
Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £5 million ($7 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2016
Crystal Palace have a history of going in and out of the Premier League, but this season the team is safely staying up. In the meantime, Mansion continues to expand its online empire with six major betting sites and counting.
17. Leicester City — King Power
Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £1 million ($1.4 million)
Timeframe: 2010 – indefinite
There’s not much else to be said about Leicester’s dream season. They came out of nowhere to win the Premier League at odds of 5,000/1, and it’s safe to say that at that Thai travel group King Power got a brilliant return for the huge exposure its team got this year.
16. Southampton — Veho
Clive Rose/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £1 million ($1.4 million)
Timeframe: 2014 – 2016
Southampton have had a great season, and are currently seventh in the league with one game to go. Veho, a consumer electronics company is one of the few companies on the list actually based in the city of the team it sponsors.
15. AFC Bournemouth — Mansion
Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £1.3 million ($1.9 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2016
Bournemouth have just about managed to survive relegation this season after the Championship promotion last year, and are certain to finish no lower than 16th. They’re one of two teams sponsored by Asian betting company Mansion.
14. West Brom — TLCBET
Ben Hoskins/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £2.3 million ($3.3 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2017
One of the many Asian and gambling companies to sponsor English football clubs is TLCBET. It got into trouble during the Cheltenham horse racing festival after allegedly not paying out on winning bets.
13. Stoke City — Bet365
Alex Broadway/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £3 million ($4 million)
Timeframe: 2012 – 2015
This sponsorship deal hits close to home for both parties: Bet365’s main offices are based in Stoke, and Peter Coates is chairman of both the club and the company.
12. Swansea City — GWFX
Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £4 million ($6 million)
Timeframe: 2013 – indefinite
One of Asia’s biggest forex websites, GWFX may seem like an odd fit for Swansea FC, but it apparently fits in with the club’s designs on global expansion. It’s GWFX’s first Premiership sponsorship, suggesting the company wants more UK exposure too.
11. Sunderland — Dafabet
Gareth Copley/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £5 million ($7 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2017
Sunderland just managed to avoid relegation this season, which is good news for its E-gaming operator Dafabet, which took over the club’s shirt sponsorship from African company Bidvest in 2015.
10. Aston Villa — Intuit Quickbooks
Richard Heathcote/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £5 million ($7 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2017
This just wasn’t Aston Villa’s season; the club is certain to be relegated with almost half the points of 19th placed Norwich. Accounting software Quickbooks will have to make do with Championship football next year.
9.Everton — Chang Beer
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £5.3 million ($7.6 million)
Timeframe: 2005 – indefinite
Everton’s relationship with Chang beer is already over 10 years old and it hasn’t just been about money: after the 2004 tsunami they created a “football village” of 50 houses and a football pitch in Thailand. Promising local footballers are also flown to Everton for team trials.
8. West Ham — Betway
Getty
Annual Worth: £6 million ($9 million)
Timeframe: 2015 – 2017
West Ham recently played their last game at their beloved Boleyn stadium, where they beat Man United 3-2. Less appealingly to sponsors Betway, many West Ham fans are looking at lifetime bans for trying to destroy Manchester’s team bus as it arrived.
7. Newcastle United — Wonga
Reuters
Annual Worth: £6 million ($9 million)
Timeframe: 2012 – 2016
Newcastle and Wonga’s fates seem to have mirrored each other this season. Online short-term loan provider Wonga recently announced a loss of £80 million thanks to new betting regulation, while Newcastle just got relegated.
6. Tottenham — AIA
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £16 million ($23 million)
Time Frame: 2014 – 2019
So close yet so far for Tottenham, who will likely have to settle for second place in the Premier League after Leicester City’s astonishing run. Still, Asia’s largest independent public listed insurance company AIA will have enjoyed the exposure.
5. Manchester City — Etihad Airways
REUTERS/Phil Noble
Annual Worth: £20 million ($29 million)
Time Frame: 2011 – 2021
One of the longer shirt sponsorships on the list, Man City have won two Premier Leagues with Ethiad on their shirts, although the 2015/16 season has proved tougher than expected as the team is still competing with rival Man United for a Champions League place.
4. Liverpool — Standard Chartered
Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £25 million ($36 million)
Time Frame: 2010 – 2016
Every company wants to get in on the Premier League action, including British-based emerging markets bank Standard Chartered. Liverpool have made it to the Europa final, where they will play Sevilla on May 18, ensuring a lot of exposure for its sponsors.
3. Arsenal — Fly Emirates
Getty
Annual Worth: £30 million ($43 million)
Time Frame: 2014 – 2019
Arsenal’s burgeoning international brand is complemented nicely by its relationship to the third largest international airline in the world. Although the team missed out on Premier League title glory again, its third place finish puts it in good stead for next season’s Champions League.
2. Chelsea — Yokohama
Paul Gilham/Getty Images
Annual Worth: £40 million ($64 million)
Time Frame: 2015 – 2020
Yokohama is a Japanese tyre company that signed with Chelsea just after it won the Premier League last season. They may wonder if it was worth it after the 2015/16 season the team’s had.
1. Manchester United — Chevrolet
Reuters
Annual Worth: £53 million ($77 million)
Time Frame: 2014 – 2021
Despite mixed success since manager Alex Ferguson departed, Manchester United is still the highest earning Premiership team by far thanks to a rock-solid brand oversea. American car company Chevrolet pays a lot of money to be on the team’s shirt, but with an 8-year deal it clearly thinks it’s money well spent.
Source:Yahoonews
