Chelsea Football Club announced one of the biggest shirt sponsorship deals in the history of the sport on Thursday. The five-year pact with Japanese tire manufacturer, Yokohama Rubber , is worth almost £40 million annually (or $60 million), according to the Daily Telegraph. The deal is worth more than twice as much as Chelsea’s previous shirt agreement with Samsung Electronics , which paid £18 million annually. The Blues will showcase Yokohama on their shirts after 10 years with Samsung.
Chelsea and Yokohama are a perfect fit. Both are global organisations with a focus on performance and innovation, as well as having huge ambition and an unwavering culture of success, said Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck in a statement announcing the agreement. We believe that Yokohama will play a key role in helping us drive our global expansion in international markets such as the U.S., where they have operated with distinction for many years.
Chelsea, owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, was the sixth most valuable club last year in Forbes’ annual soccer valuations worth $868 million on $394 million in revenue. Operating income (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) was $61 million for the 2012-13 season.
Chelsea’s fortunes are headed up after this latest deal. It is the second biggest shirt sponsorship pact in the sport after Manchester United’s seven-year, $559 million pact with General Motors GM -0.67% for its Chevrolet brand, which kicked off this season. In 2013, Chelsea extended its kit deal with Adidas for 10 years at an average of $45 million annually. It was the biggest shirt manufacturer deal by total value until United inked a 10-year, $1.3 billion pact with Adidas last year. Chelsea claims more than 500 million fans globally.
This shirt partnership with Chelsea will give Yokohama an opportunity to showcase our company to a huge worldwide audience thanks to Chelsea’s ever-growing popularity, said Yokohama chairman Tadanobu Nagumo. Yokohama posted pre-tax earnings of $591 million last year on sales of $5.9 billion.
Chelsea has won the English Premier League three times since the 2004-05 season and captured the Champions League title in 2012. The club currently sits on top of the EPL standings, five points ahead of Manchester City. The Blues won their Champions League group for the ninth time in their last 12 campaigns this season. In the knockout stage last week, they drew 1-1 in the first leg against Paris Saint-Germain with the second leg set for March 11 in London.