Stefan Borson: This is how much Chelsea’s shirt sponsor deal could be worth
Chelsea are still working to agree a new front-of-shirt sponsorship deal for this season.
Enzo Maresca’s side have started another campaign without a primary shirt deal, having failed to land a long-term partnership over the past couple of years.
Chelsea have set a £60million asking price for their shirt sponsorship after holding talks with various parties in recent months.
Chelsea could now be about to agree a new shirt deal after The Athletic reported on 22 October the club’s thorough process to find a sponsor is “nearing a conclusion”.
The news outlet added there are now less than a handful of discussions taking place with companies, with the talks “very advanced” and a decision expected in the “near term”.
Chelsea could agree £45m shirt sponsor deal
Former Man City financial adviser Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider Chelsea are likely to earn between £40-45m for their front-of-shirt sponsorship.
The Blues’ last major shirt deal came in the 2023-24 campaign when Infinite Athlete agreed to pay £40m for a single season.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson said: “The Athletic has said that they’re close. They have said that before a number of times. In fact, quite a few people have reported that they’re close.
“Chelsea haven’t been able to close the deal. They have closed the sleeve sponsorship deal with a Vietnamese IT company. It looks like probably the biggest IT company in Vietnam, so at least they filled the sleeve, which has been a vacant property since the end of last season.
“I think Live Nation took it on a temporary basis at the end of last season, so Chelsea have had some issues with selling sponsorship, we know that. It doesn’t look like the Vietnamese sponsorship deal is a long-term deal, so we’ll just have to see how that pans out.”
Football Insider revealed on 24 October Chelsea’s sleeve sponsor deal is worth around £10m with FPT corporation until the end of this season.
The Vietnam-based technology solutions provider will see its logo feature on the club’s men’s, women’s and academy kits.
Chelsea to make shirt sponsor announcement soon
Chelsea agreed a short-term deal in April for DAMAC to appear on the front of their shirts for the remainder of the 2024-25 campaign, but it was never the intention for the partnership to be extended into this season.
Borson insisted the Blues are going to have to announce something soon regarding their shirt sponsorship situation.
“I would think you’re looking at something like an average annual value for the front of shirt and everything else that goes with it, you’re probably looking at about £40-45m, so that’s with a full season with the front of shirt printed on the replica, all of the inventory, all of the extra seats that they get, all of the boxes, all of that stuff,” said Borson.
“I think you’re looking at probably £40-45m and then we’ll just have to see which brand are apparently close.
“But either way, I would think whether it’s November or December, they’re going to have to announce something because surely they’re going to have somebody on the shirt for next season.”
Chelsea’s latest published accounts for 2023-24 revealed their turnover fell from £512m in 2022-23 to £468m despite their commercial revenue increasing from £210m to £225m across the same period.
For more Chelsea and exclusive news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.