The 2024/25 Premier League season began with Chelsea as the only team in the league without a front-of-shirt sponsor. Although this is a rare sight, the Blues also began the previous campaign sponsorless before agreeing a one-year deal with Infinite Athlete in late September, several weeks after the season began.
A strange incident occurring in two successive years has got many football fans asking the simple question: why? Clearly, the answer is nothing to do with shirt design as Chelsea’s rather horrid home shirt is one of the few that would be better off being partially covered by a sponsor. The real answer ultimately boils down to money, as is usually the way in football these days.
What Happened Last Year?
Chelsea began the 2023/24 season without a shirt sponsor but not through lack of trying. They originally looked to have secured a deal with Paramount Plus but the Premier League refused to sign off on it. The decision surprised a few but Premier League bosses did not want to risk potentially upsetting current TV rights holders by having a ‘rival’ name featuring so prominently on a club shirt. They had the power to block the move under the Deed of License agreement and did exactly that.
Following this setback in June 2023, Chelsea turned their attention to betting brand Stake and were poised for a one-year partnership. The club pulled the plug on this deal, however, following the backlash of fans including the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust who believed it would ‘devalue the image of the club’. With the Blues feeling obliged to scrap this deal in July, they were left scrambling to find a replacement.
With nobody else willing to meet their demands the club began the season sponsorless and their bargaining position was beginning to weaken. In the end, they had to turn to an existing partner, Infinite Athlete, the global parent company of Tempus Ex Machina who had just signed a seven-year agreement with the club relating to technology enhancements.
A one-year deal was reached as Chelsea hoped that a better domestic campaign, one resulting in Champions League qualification, would enable them to land a more lucrative deal the following year. As it was, the Blues only qualified for Europe’s third most prestigious club competition, the UEFA Conference League. Nevertheless, Chelsea remains an attractive club to sponsor due to being a Premier League side with a large fan base.
The Problem This Year?
Under new ownership, Chelsea have been very ambitious in terms of the commercial revenues they are looking to attract. Back in 2023, The Athletic reported they were looking for potential front-of-shirt sponsors to be paying in the region of £60m a season, around what rivals Arsenal get from their Emirates deal. Although too pricey for most, there was some initial hope last year that the club could secure a deal with Saudi airline Riyadh Air.
While Chelsea are a big club, companies are perhaps being put off by the high price tag as this is not a club enjoying their finest years. Their average finishing position across the last two seasons is ninth, their worst record since the 1994/95 and 1995/96 seasons. The powers that be at the London club have tried to hold out for as long as possible but they will presumably be more willing to lower their asking price now. Not only is a potential partner not getting a full Premier League season but they know Chelsea cannot afford to miss out on such important revenue.
The most likely scenario is that the Blues end up agreeing a deal in the coming weeks, likely in the region of £40m. The Athletic have reported this is expected and that such deal is likely to be another one season agreement but one that covers the FIFA Club World Cup in the summer of 2025. A short deal is Chelsea’s preference as it enables them to negotiate a new, more lucrative deal should Enzo Maresca secure Champions League qualification this year.
It should be noted that any deal that is announced will only impact the men’s team and not the women’s team. Chelsea Women agreed to a separate sponsorship deal with telecommunication giants, Three, in the summer.
Could Chelsea Spend the Season Sponsorless?
While technically possible, it seems extremely unlikely this would happen. As soon as Chelsea agrees to a deal, a sponsor can be on the shirt ready for their next match. There is no deadline they have to meet like with the transfer window. This means the only way West London could go the campaign without a sponsor is if they failed to reach a deal with any company. This happened to Nottingham Forest in the 2022/23 season where they spent the first half of the campaign without a sponsor before partnering up with an unpaid charity sponsor from January onwards.
What happened there was that Forest refused to budge from their £10m asking price and rather than keeping a plain strip the entire year, having a charity sponsor at least brought some positive PR. You might ask why did they not just lower their asking price but accepting a £5m deal one season, for example, makes it harder to justify a £10m asking price a year later. It is hard to imagine Chelsea being so stubborn with their demands as it would mean passing up the chance to secure an easy £40m or so. Ultimately, it is not really a sum they can afford to turn down given how active they have been in the transfer market lately.
What About the Sleeve Sponsor?
Chelsea very nearly began the 2024/25 Premier League season completely sponsorless but just before the opening day clash with Man City, they announced a sponsorship deal with Fever. Unlike any potential front-of-shirt deal, this sleeve agreement will cover both the men’s and women’s shirts. BingX, who were the sleeve sponsor last season, have moved to be a training wear partner in a deal valued at £12m. It is likely the Fever arrangement is worth a similar amount, providing the Blues with a nice cash injection but only a fraction of what a front-of-shirt deal could be worth.
How Does This Look for Chelsea?
Lots of questions have been raised about the actions of Chelsea’s American owners since taking charge. Whether it’s been the extremely lengthy contracts offered to players, extreme spending in the transfer market or the sacking of managers, they have managed to attract their fair share of criticism.
Although commercial deals rarely fall under quite the same levels of scrutiny, starting two seasons sponsorless is not the best look for them. It may be fairly quickly forgotten about if Chelsea announce a solid deal soon but the longer it goes on the more questions that will be asked about the club’s management.