The 2026/2027 Premier League season will see a significant change in sponsorship policies. Starting this season, sportsbooks will be banned from being the main sponsors of clubs. This move is expected to have a huge impact on the revenue of English clubs.
The specialized vehicle The Sponsor carried out a survey and the prediction is that the change could cause a 38% drop in the average sponsorship values of clubs.
The study warns that some teams are set to lose more than half of their sponsorship revenues. Wolverhampton, for example, is set to see a 52% drop in average fair market value.
Bournemouth, according to the study, has a contract with the betting company BJ88 worth 49% more than what the market considers “fair”. Therefore, the club will have difficulty finding another sponsor, who is not from the same betting segment, to cover the partnership that will be terminated.
sportsbooksCurrently, 11 Premier League clubs have master sponsorship deals with bookmakers or similar. The high amounts invested by companies in the sector have raised the value considered fair by the market to a level that is unlikely to be maintained after the ban.
The smaller clubs are likely to feel the most pressure from bookmakers leaving the English market. The expectation is that the adjustment in sponsorship values in the Premier League will further increase the commercial gap between the most prestigious teams and those at the bottom of the table.
New rule on Premier League sportsbooks
Under the new rule, the only ban is for betting shops to be displayed on the main space of club uniforms. Therefore, it does not prevent companies from taking over other properties, such as the sleeves.
In the Premier League, shirt sleeves have, on average, 39% smaller contracts than the most important spaces. Still, bookmakers could repeat the strategy they applied before the ban and inflate the deals involving ownership.
In addition to the “bets”, the report also assesses that the ban also appears as an opportunity for new brands to enter English football. The drop in values could even generate cost-effective deals for smaller companies.
