West Ham exploit Championship rules to agree 'smart' deal - expert

The Sky Bet Championship are in no position to criticise West Ham United after the club agreed its latest sponsorship deal.

That is according to former Manchester City financial adviser Stefan Borson, who exclusively told Football Insider that West Ham are smart to take advantage of being outside of the Premier League's rules.

The Premier League are bringing in a ban on gambling sponsors for front of shirts, which would have been an issue for the Hammers' deal with BoyleSports.

BoyleSports will continue as the main sponsor at the London Stadium for the 2026-27 campaign, with the original deal believed to be worth upwards of £12.5million.

While Nuno Espirito Santo's side are now in the Championship after a very difficult campaign, it is clearly not all doom and gloom in East London.

Multiple Premier League clubs are struggling to find front-of-shirt sponsors due to the new laws, but the Hammers have managed to evade those issues.

West Ham financially safe after BoyleSports agreement

Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Borson applauded West Ham's deal with BoyleSports, rather than raise any concerns about complications further down the line.

"I think you take what you can get right now and bank the cash. Use the leverage of being a team able to carry a gambling friendship shirt for this season.

"Sell yourself as somebody that's going to be at the top of the league all season, is going to get loads of coverage, is going to be on TV the whole time.

"The Championship can hardly take a moral stance against gambling when it's the Sky Bet Championship. So I think it's a very sensible move.

"It sounds like they've got a decent fee for it as well, which again, paints the picture that financially they're going to be fine this season.

"Obviously, we've got a short-term cash issue, but that can be dealt with by [Daniel] Kretinsky loaning the club or somebody else putting some money in. It's a smart move."

What are West Ham's chances of winning promotion next season?

Understandably, supporters will be eager for a return straight to the Premier League, and that depends entirely on the club's transfer business.

Losing Mateus Fernandes is already a huge blow, with Crysencio Summerville likely to follow, but Jarrod Bowen is expected to stay now.

Currently, the Hammers are favourites to win the Championship in 2026-27, priced at 9/4, with Wolves up next, priced at 11/2.

And just to win promotion, either automatically or via the play-offs, Nuno's side are 4/6, which will absolutely be music to fans' ears this summer.

There is clearly a lot of work to do over the coming weeks and months, but all signs point towards a positive campaign for West Ham.