Chelsea are moving closer to finalising a shirt sponsorship agreement with one of the world’s leading tech firms, according to information from The Chelsea Chronicle.
It’s now been over a season since the club had an official front-of-shirt sponsor – a role typically seen as the second-most lucrative in their commercial portfolio, just behind kit manufacturing rights.
For a club of Chelsea’s stature, such a deal is significant. The club has reportedly been seeking around £60m annually from potential sponsors, which would represent approximately 10 percent of their total yearly income.
To put that in perspective, it’s about what Chelsea might expect to earn from Champions League prize money this season under conservative estimates.
DAMAC was only ever intended as a short-term solution, and while they remain involved as a secondary partner, Chelsea have continued searching for something more permanent.
Chelsea under pressure to boost revenue streams
The need for increased revenue streams is clear. While creative accounting moves – like transferring property assets and the Women’s team within its corporate structure – have helped Chelsea navigate Premier League PSR guidelines so far, UEFA’s framework offers less flexibility.
A settlement was reached last July after breaches were found for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons under European football’s sustainability rules.
“If you break even by €5 million [£4.25m] then you’re okay,” Stewart told reporters earlier this year. “If you break even by €4m then there’ll be questions asked.”
The risk isn’t just financial; there could be competitive penalties too if further violations occur on top of the £27.5 million already paid in fines. That makes securing consistent commercial income streams like shirt sponsorships even more critical for meeting regulatory obligations going forward.
Oracle to become new front-of-shirt sponsor for Chelsea
The Chelsea Chronicle has been informed by industry sources that Oracle is expected to take over as Chelsea’s front-of-shirt sponsor.
According to one source, the contract may already be signed and could be announced after the international break. The timing would line up with either the Champions League meeting between Enzo Maresca’s team and Barcelona on November 25th or that Sunday’s game against Arsenal.
Oracle, a multinational software company based in the US, ranks among the largest companies globally, valued at around £470bn at last check.
Chelsea’s commercial department may not see any silver lining in missing out on more than £100m of sponsorship revenue over the last year-and-a-half, but they will at least feel they’ve struck gold with a company of Oracle’s stature. The firm was co-founded by Larry Ellison back in 1977.
Ellison, currently second on the list of global wealth, is worth an estimated £210bn – a figure that far exceeds those held by current Chelsea shareholders Todd Boehly (£6.5bn), Mark Walter (£9.5bn), and Hansjorg Wyss (£12bn).
The specifics of this deal haven’t been disclosed yet, but most commercial agreements tend to include a base fee with annual increases tied to inflation plus performance incentives.
Chelsea reported commercial revenue of £225m for 2023-24 – up from £215m the previous year – but even though they’re well ahead of most Premier League clubs overall, that total was still only fifth-highest among England’s Big Six clubs.
Arsenal are expected to have moved well past them when financial reports come out next spring. That shift is thanks not just to their resurgence on the pitch driving new sponsorships and retail deals but also due to Chelsea operating without main shirt and sleeve partners for much of that period.
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