As the 2024/2025 English Premier league season kicks off, Ampere Analysis has looked at the Front of Shirt asset to find key sponsorship trends, amid a raft of new partnerships in the off-season, which has seen gambling companies now accounting for the majority of revenue/deals.

 In today’s market, shirt sponsorships are ever more critical for teams’ commercial income. Last season, the total combined revenue from Front of Shirt sponsorship across the league was £408m. Currently the total is £404m, due to Chelsea having not signed a new deal for the upcoming season; it’s previous deal with Infinite Athlete was valued at £40m.

The Premier League continues to be a compelling case for international investment: In 2023/2024, 85% of Front of Shirt brands were internationally-based and this has risen 89% for the new season. 

Clubs with new Front of Shirt deals include Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, Manchester United, Wolverhampton Wanderers, and promoted sides Leicester City and Southampton – with each club seeing an increased value from their previous deals.

Betano and Aston Villa’s partnership is notable within this group due to the club’s entrance into the Champions League and has grown from £8m to a reported £20m per season. Chelsea’s lack of deal is due to them looking for a short-term single season partner to capitalize on this same potential growth in value – Champions League qualification would afford it a higher-value, long-term deal, so the club’s strategy is to remain flexible in the meantime.

More holistically, recent governance regarding gambling sponsors in the Premier League includes a ban starting in the 2026/27 season. This has caused a high spending trend in the market in the short term, with both rightsholders and gambling brands keen to utilise the Front of Shirt asset while they still can.

Gambling as a sector has seen a 45% growth in Front of Shirt sponsorship – up three deals from 2023/2024. Sheffield United’s relegation and Wolves’ switch to online sportsbook and casino Debet strengthens the betting companies’ foothold, while Leicester City and Southampton have reinforced this following their promotion. With only two seasons left before the prohibition, these newly-signed agreements are necessarily short-term but are also high-value. 

Looking ahead, though, the ban on gambling sponsorship could cause significant changes and potential drops in revenue, especially among the Premier League’s smaller clubs. The top six teams have a more diverse portfolio of Front of Shirt partners, including Technology, Financial Services, and Travel. 

It is not yet clear if another sector will step in and provide the support the gambling brands currently provide.  Telecommunications – such as O2 and Vodafone with Arsenal and Manchester United respectively– has historically been a strong candidate. Financial Services companies may look to reinvest more, given the chance to become larger stakeholders once again, and Travel and Tourism brands can look to Arsenal and Manchester City as key examples of success. For now though, foreign sportsbooks and casinos are capitalising on the short window they have left, and clubs are looking to maximize their profit within this bull market.