We’re expecting an announcement soon that will confirm Arsenal dropping Puma as they shirt designers in favor of a £180m deal with Adidas to commence at the kick-off of the 2018/2019 season. Should the deal be completed it will nearly treble the club’s annual income paid for the right to design their team jersey, and take propel them much closer to the kind of income enjoyed by their top of the table rivals. While this is major news and yet further proof that the EPL leads the way when it comes to enhancing subsidiary income streams, it also provides us with the perfect opportunity to take a closer look at the many other sponsorship deals they enjoy.
Arsenal and Emirates have enjoyed over a decade of partnership with the airline proving a key source of funding for the 60 000 capacity, £390m Emirates Stadium. A commercial partnership was crucial in order to get work underway, as the club was not granted any public sector funding and despite their best efforts only earned around £50m from careful player sales (an impressive sum for the times but only an eighth of the total cost, not including a new training ground). Continue reading “Arsenal Sponsorship Deals: An Overview”