According to SportsQuake data, cryptocurrency corporations spent a record-breaking about $170 million on sponsorship agreements with Premier League teams for the 2024–2025 campaign.
Premier League clubs are inundated with sponsorship offers from cryptocurrency companies, according a story published by Bloomberg on October 7.
Crypto companies have taken advantage of the situation by collaborating with football leagues for the first time, as the League gets ready to adapt to new, stricter restrictions regarding gambling sponsorship.
According to data from the sports sponsorship agency SportQuake, the value of sponsorships from cryptocurrency companies has increased by about 30% when compared to the previous year.
SportQuake CEO Matt House said that since last year, when regulations pertaining to the marketing of cryptoassets were strengthened, clubs have become more comfortable entering into agreements with cryptocurrency companies.
Crypto companies, however, are now far more “comfortable about what they can do.”
House told Bloomberg, “We’re not really pushing direct sales messages; we’re just going to use the Premier League to drive a brand message.”
When Kraken established a collaboration with Spanish football team Atlético de Madrid in July 2024, it became one of the most prominent relationships between a cryptocurrency company and a football team. The arrangement made Kraken the official cryptocurrency and Web3 partner of the Madrid-based team.
As per the agreement, Atletico’s official sleeve partner for the upcoming season for both the men’s and women’s teams will be Kraken.
Last year, Manchester City, the current Premier League winners, signed a sponsorship agreement with OKX, another cryptocurrency exchange. Floki, a cryptocurrency ecosystem, has declared its intention to support Nottingham Forest.
The Champions League of the Union of European Football Associations will be sponsored, as Crypto.com disclosed in August.
Football partnerships’ conditions are being altered by cryptocurrency sponsorships
Contracts show that even if more football teams are embracing cryptocurrency sponsorships, they are still cautious.
Lawyers at Charles Russell Speechlys told Bloomberg that businesses who are relatively new to the football scene, like cryptocurrency enterprises, must pay a fee up advance.
Furthermore, contracts may even contain a boilerplate clause that permits clubs to cut their connections with a corporation in the event that they believe there is a substantial risk of reputational harm.
Before closing a deal, rights holders could request a letter of credit or guarantee from a bank or parent business as a precaution.
Even while cryptocurrency companies are becoming more popular in football sponsorships, some teams are determined to keep their sponsors from the gaming business.
Despite the impending ban, football teams Bournemouth, Crystal Palace, and Aston Villa have negotiated new sponsorship agreements with bookmakers this year.
