EPL Jersey

This Saturday, as I often do, I woke up early to watch the English Premier League. For those that do not follow soccer the EPL is the English soccer league, considered by most to be the best league in the world. During the game between by beloved Tottenham and Manchester United something caught my eye in a way that it has never before. In soccer unlike traditional US sports such as baseball and football, the front of the jersey is reserved for sponsors. While this is something I have known about for virtually my entire life I never have thought deeply about the sponsorship on the uniforms. I made the immediate connection between this form of advertising and celebrity endorsements. A company that decides to promote themselves on a uniform not only takes on the risk of the players misbehaving but also the team as a whole. Celebrity endorsements/partnerships can be very risky for companies because once the two form a bond a celebrity’s bad judgment can seriously hurt a business. To me having your company on a jersey is a huge risk. Not only are you as a company now bond to a whole team of players but you are also a part of that organization. I wonder if fans of rival teams would be against products that sponsor their most hated opponents.

I also did some research into just how much teams earn from jersey sponsorships and found some very interesting information. Manchester United and Liverpool both earn the most with an annual 20million pound payday. London’s Fulham club makes the least bringing in 120,000 pounds yearly. The range in which companies advertise on teams is almost as wide the discrepancy between the costs to sponsor. With companies ranging from beer to air travel.

The NBA is one US league that as discussed moving toward this style of advertising and revenue and I think it will be interesting to see how it is received here in the states.

Below are some jerseys to show examples of this form of advertising.