Football Sponsorship Deals Not Lower Than Before The Pandemic

A recent reports by KPMG Football Benchmark has revealed that football clubs still generate a hefty amount from sponsorship since the start of the pandemic.

KPMG Football Benchmark's Report On Football Sponsorship

The Covid-19 pandemic took away the fans from the stadiums, which in turn affected ticket sales and broadcasting income. This, however, was not the case with commercial sponsorship.

In the 2019-20 season, the Premier League and Bundesliga saw growth in commercial revenue with the former getting a 12% increase. However, the loss registered in other big leagues such as La Liga or Serie A was down mostly down to one club. Barcelona's decline caused La Liga to lose about 2.5% while Inter Milan's sponsorship deals not getting renewed drove half of the 14.6% loss to Serie A.

With that said, since May 2020, around 40 new main shirt sponsorship deals have been completed. The value of these partnership doesn't look to be affected much at all as it is about 1% less than pre-pandemic level.

Looking at the top 10 sponsorship deals after the pandemic started by annual value, one thing stands out is that the length of the agreements ise generally shorter than before. One or two-year-deal are more popular as companies are uncertain about the future. The odd one out was Manchester United with their five-year-deal with Teamviewer.

It's also noteworthy to point out that RB Leipzig's sponsorship value is unusually high with the club's performance. Their deal is only behind Manchester United and Juventus, with the German club getting almost 40 million for a year. Almost double or even triple the clubs behind them who were either of the same or higher calibre. It is possible that the value was inflated as Red Bull is the owner of RB Leipzig.

Kit supplier deals are also getting slightly shorter, but renewal value has so far increased over 10% across the five big leagues. As big brands and clubs mostly already signed or still in a very long-term contract before the pandemic, the chart is dominated by smaller ones.

Overall, the data suggest football sponsorship will continue to generate a considerable amount of income for clubs.

What do you think of KPMG Football Benchmark's report? Let us know in the comment.