Crypto Companies Pour $170M into Premier League Sponsorships

Bitget App

Trade smarter

Cryptopotato2024/10/06 16:00

By:Author: Wayne Jones

With front-of-shirt gambling sponsorships set to be banned by mid-2026, crypto companies are stepping in to fill the revenue gap.

According to a September 7 report by Bloomberg, Premier League (PL) clubs have secured a record-breaking $170 million in sponsorship deals from crypto companies for the 2024/25 season.

This uptick comes as league participants face tightening restrictions on gambling sponsorships, which have traditionally been a major source of revenue for them.

Crypto Sponsorships on the Rise

Per the report , several top clubs have already signed major crypto deals. For instance, leading crypto exchange Kraken is sponsoring Tottenham Hotspur, La Liga’s Atlético Madrid, as well as RB Leipzig from the German Bundesliga.

Meanwhile, in June 2023, reigning Premier League champions Manchester City extended their partnership with OKX for three years in a deal that will cost the platform $70 million.

Another crypto exchange, Crypto.com, is also heavily involved in football. The company, which owns the naming rights to the former Staples Center, hosting the Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers, among others, announced in August that it will sponsor UEFA’s Champions League until 2027.

The crypto sponsorship influx isn’t limited to just the biggest names in the biggest leagues; Turkish side Galatasaray recently signed a two-season deal with blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, worth about $4 million, to have its logo featured on the team’s shirt sleeves.

Gambling Out, Crypto In

For PL clubs, these partnerships mark a major shift in the sponsorship landscape, especially with a looming proscription on front-of-shirt gambling ads by mid-2026. This is in addition to a 2019 “whistle-to-whistle” ban on gambling ads during live matches.

During the 2023/24 season, eight teams had front-of-shirt gambling sponsors, collectively earning them nearly $80 million per year.

However, according to Daniel McDonagh, an associate at UK law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, who was quoted in the Bloomberg report, crypto firms are now stepping in to fill the vacuum caused by the limitations on gambling sponsorship.

Some feel the move is part of efforts to clean up the image of the digital asset industry following the bad press that came with the collapses of several high-profile enterprises, including Three Arrows Capital (3AC), Voyager Digital, and FTX.

Disclaimer: The content of this article solely reflects the author's opinion and does not represent the platform in any capacity. This article is not intended to serve as a reference for making investment decisions.

PoolX: Locked for new tokens.

APR up to 10%. Always on, always get airdrop.

Lock now!

The crypto market has dipped in response to President Trump’s plan to enact steep tariffs on imported goods from Canada, Mexico, and China beginning on Tuesday.Canada and Mexico have ordered retaliatory tariffs in response, while China promised “corresponding countermeasures” and said it would file a lawsuit with the WTO.Memecoins were particularly hard-hit by the downturn, with many top coins seeing double-digit percentage drops. Trump’s memecoin has fallen nearly 30% over the past week.

The Block•2025/02/02 17:11