The Japanese tyre firm Yokohama Rubber is to become Chelsea’s new shirt sponsor in a deal believed to be worth £200m, making it the second most lucrative in Premier League history. The agreement, effective from next season, is second only to the £53m a year that Chevrolet pays Manchester United and is more than double the club’s previous contract with Samsung.
Since the advent of Uefa’s financial fair play rules, commercial and broadcasting income has become disproportionately important as clubs seek to balance the books and grow their global brand. The increased sponsorship revenue will boost Chelsea’s transfer spending power.
Neither Chelsea nor Yokohama Rubber would confirm the figures involved but the five-year agreement is believed to be worth around £40m per year. The deal will lead to Chelsea leapfrogging Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City in terms of shirt sponsorship revenues and will be seen as a coup for Christian Purslow, the former Liverpool managing director who was appointed last year to seek new commercial contracts abroad.
The tyre brand, which sponsors the NBA teams Boston Celtics and San Antonio Spurs but has few links with football, was first rumoured to be in negotiations with Chelsea last month after a prospective deal with Turkish Airlines collapsed.
“We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the US, where they have operated with distinction for many years,” said the Chelsea chairman, Bruce Buck. “Also, of course, Chelsea having such an esteemed and historic Japanese company as our partner enables us to accelerate our development in their home market too.”
News of the Chelsea deal came as a report from Repucom showed that Premier League clubs’ revenue from shirt sponsorship rose by 36% on last season, largely driven by Manchester United’s deal. The study showed that the rise in shirt sponsorship revenues had been driven by increased interest from overseas, particularly the Middle East and Asia. Three-quarters of shirt sponsors in the top flight are from overseas.
Chelsea, like their other rivals at the top end of the table, have in recent seasons attempted to follow the lead set by Manchester United in building a portfolio of overseas sponsors in a range of different categories. In its statement, Chelsea said the deal with Yokohama would launch the club “into a new era of innovative commercial partnerships”.