Stefan Borson: Nottingham Forest 'disappointed' by new sponsor deal

Nottingham Forest will be "disappointed" despite finally striking a deal for a front-of-shirt sponsor ahead of the 2026-27 season.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that was the current situation was "not part of the plan".

Forest announced their partnership with Bally's Corporation ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, a deal that expired after just a single season at the City Ground.

This was because of the Premier League's incoming ban on gambling companies as front-of-shirt sponsors, which has impacted multiple clubs.

On Tuesday, 18 August, just days before kicking off their Premier League against Leeds United, the Reds announced their new deal with Marex.

Marex, a global financial services platform, is set to don the men's and women's shirts for the "2026-27 season and beyond," with the deal understood to be worth £25million across three years.

Nottingham Forest to earn '£8m-a-year' from new deal

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson explained why the situation was difficult, but also stated that Forest's new deal would be far from ideal.

"It's not part of the plan, but I think there are probably new valuation parameters. You've got before the gambling ban and after the gambling ban," he said.

"And I think you have to accept that front-of-shirt sponsorship is probably 30 per cent down in terms of its value after the ban.

"Forest also don't have any Europe this season compared to some of the previous seasons, so less gains and less European exposure. So just generally less compelling.

"They also will have found themselves up against teams like Sunderland, who maybe pitch themselves as quite a similar size club and do have Europe and do have a vacancy on the front of shirt.

"All of those things just bring the price down. That said, I think it's still a low price, sort of £8m-a-year. I think they'll be a bit disappointed that they couldn't do better. "

What do Nottingham Forest fans make of the sponsor?

Unfortunately, the reaction to the front-of-shirt sponsor has not been the most positive, but that was always likely with such a late deal being struck.

The supporter suggested that the lettering being bolder would have made for a better effect, but it's too late for changes to be made now, sadly.