Chelsea have been a big mess ever since the ownership was changed in 2022. They were seen to interrupt the Premier League’s rules and relegations regarding the finances and recruitment. The new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have spent over £1billion on new signings since the take over. And now the owners are in between a civil war, as both of them are looking to buy the other investor out.
Amongst all the chaos, Chelsea needs to increase their revenue in order to meet the Premier League’s PSR rules. The plan of expanding Stamford Bridge or moving away from there to increase revenue from ticket sales is ideal. But it will take a lot time and money. In this scenario commercial income can come in very handy for the Blues to fix the short-term PSR needs. That is why Chelsea are desperate to bring in capital from the commercial market.
The Premier League’s PSR or ‘Profit and Sustainability Rules’ keep the clubs within the bound of losing £105m in a period of three years. And Chelsea have struggled to do so to meet the terms this season. So, they will be in a hurry to gather some revenue to meet the terms of PSR. The most surprising thing is Chelsea doesn’t have a front-of-shirt sponsor yet. These sponsorships are normally the most valuable asset for the club commercial catalogue. But Chelsea have decided to wait to struck a deal as they believe a the case regarding Man City‘s 115 charges can help them secure a higher profitable deal.
How City’s case will affect Chelsea
Chelsea who have started the season on a high note are still without a front-of-shirt sponsor. Similar to how they begun their last season. This deals are so much important for a club’s financial structure. For a club like Chelsea, it can potentially cover up 1/8th of their total annual revenue. But Chelsea’s wait to struck a deal is appreciated by numerous media. It seems that City’s recent arbitration case win will favor the Blues in the near future.
City, who are currently convicted of violating Premier League financial rules and regulations, have challenged the Premier League’s APT rules to counter the 115 charges against them. As per the APT or ‘Associated Party Transactions’ rules, companies who strike a deal with clubs and have a link with owners of the clubs must be assessed carefully. They are checked if they have a fair market value or not. It is done to prevent artificially inflated partnerships.
However, after the City arbitration case, we can see the APT rules being revised. Speaking to talkSPORT, legal expert and former Man City adviser Stefan Borson said,
“Let’s say you’re Chelsea and you want a new front-of-shirt sponsor and someone is offering you £40m. You have got to know what the regime is tomorrow if you want to process that commercial deal. Time is of the essence in commercial deals. It can’t just be ‘well, we’ll eventually get around the changing it at the next shareholder meeting.”
Borson believes City victory in the case will change the rules considerably. As he mentioned that if City won the aspects of this, then they are not the focus points of the rule itself.
Premier League club’s front-of-shirt worth
It seems that Chelsea are asking for a £50m-a-year value for their front-of-shirt rights. But parties are neglecting to pay that much. However, if Chelsea manages to complete the deal it will make their rights the third most valued in the Premier League right now.
Arsenal and Spurs currently make around £30-35m-a-year from their front-of-shirt sponsors. Where as Liverpool holds the third spot with £50m-a-year after selling their rights to Standard Chartered.
The second spot goes to Man United as their deal with the Snapdragon brand is worth around £60m per year. And the first spot goes to none other than Man City, as they earn around £68m-a-year since their collaboration with Etihad, which also includes stadium’s naming rights.
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