The 2019/20 Premier League season sees the twenty competing clubs break the record for the combined shirt sponsorship value for the tenth consecutive season. Manchester United still lead the pack by raking in £64 million of the collective £349.1 million invested on primary shirt sponsors – an increase of £33.5m from 18/19.
Nick Harris of Sporting Intelligence has pulled together the figures to reveal a league table of most valuable to least valuable. Manchester United are comfortably setting the pace by earning £19m more than their closest rivals, Man City (£45m). Unsurprisingly Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool (All £40m) and Spurs (£35m) complete the top six before a big gap in value separates the chasing pack with West Ham in 7th (£10m).
What is evident is the presence of bookmakers. 10 of 20 Premier League clubs in 2019/20 will have gambling companies as their main shirt sponsors (up from 9 last season), and that theme is followed in the Championship with 17 of the 24 teams displaying a bookies logo. That's over 61% of clubs in the top two divisions taking in gambling cash. More evidence, if it were needed, that bookmakers always win. And more evidence that football is influencing and worryingly embracing a gambling epidemic. But that's a different article for a different day.
The list only features the figures on primary shirt sponsors that appear on the chest of the jersey, meaning sleeve sponsor money isn't included. The sleeve cash would bump the overall total up by £50m thanks to lucrative deals at Arsenal (£10m), United, City, Chelsea (£6m) and Liverpool (£5m). Just one of the Premier League shirt sponsors is UK based, long gone are the days of Draper Tools & Newcastle Brown Ale. 'Tis a global game, and money talks.
