Chelsea have seen the Premier League put a stop to a lucrative proposed deal for Paramount+ to become the club’s new primary shirt sponsor.
The Blues are on the lookout for new branding on the front of their shirts for 2023/24 and beyond after the previous contract with Three came to an end following the conclusion of last season – the mobile network had adorned Chelsea shirts for three years since 2020.
Three briefly paused marketing activities with the club in 2022 in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, but resumed the partnership when Roman Abramovich sold the club last June. The company had even wanted their branding removed from shirts, although it never happened as it wasn’t possible for kit supplier Nike to make new ones under the special license.
Now, Chelsea are in need of a new sponsor regardless and had seemingly hoped it would be American streaming platform Paramount+. But the Daily Mail has reported that the Premier League have ruled a deal would contravene the Deed of License, which covers various broadcasting matters.
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Paramount+ is available in the UK, streaming entertainment shows and films. Crucially, however, it is also a Premier League broadcast partner in the United States and a partnership with Chelsea could prove problematic for the league, even though Paramount+ doesn’t stream games in the UK.
Instead, Chelsea will have to consider alternatives. German financial company Allianz, already with a heavy involvement in football, have been linked, but reports in recent days have suggested that a deal would be far less lucrative than if Chelsea paired with Stake, an online betting platform.
Any sponsorship from Stake could only be relatively short-term as Premier League clubs voted as recently as April to ban betting companies from the front of shirts from 2026 onwards. Only sleeve and pitchside gambling advertising will be permitted after that, while there is also a moral conundrum given the active work the Chelsea Foundation engages in on the harm of gambling.
Polling its members, the Chelsea Supporters’ Trust has stated this week: "Over 77% of our voting members strongly disagree or disagree with the use of an online casino and betting company as the primary shirt sponsor."
In a letter sent to Chelsea chairman Todd Boehly, the group made that stance clear and highlighted projects overseen by the Chelsea Foundation.
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This article was originally published on 90min as Premier League block deal for new Chelsea shirt sponsor.