Chelsea and Sunderland Open Premier League Season Without Shirt Sponsors

Chelsea and Sunderland will begin the 2026-27 Premier League season as the division’s only clubs without front-of-shirt sponsors, according to BBC Sport. Both clubs remain in negotiations, but their circumstances differ: Chelsea is pursuing a high-value long-term agreement, while Sunderland needs a replacement after its deal with gambling company W88 ended.

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Chelsea is seeking an agreement worth about £50 million to £55 million per season, the BBC reported, citing an understood valuation. The club says negotiations of this scale can take time. Its commercial position has also been affected by inconsistent results and the reduced exposure that comes without regular Champions League football.

The Sponsor, which publishes an annual fair-market-value index covering Premier League shirt and sleeve deals, projected that Chelsea’s front-of-shirt value fell from £50.3 million to £33.6 million at the end of last season. Chelsea could accept a cheaper agreement to improve short-term revenue, but the club is instead concentrating on a deal that supports its longer-term valuation.

This will be the fourth consecutive season in which Chelsea has started without a front-of-shirt partner. Artificial intelligence and industrial software company IFS sponsored the team during the final three months of last season, while Infinite Athlete and Damac have also held short-term sponsorships in recent campaigns. The club’s 15-year Nike kit agreement is worth £900 million in total, or £60 million per season, but the BBC said it is now considered below market value compared with some leading European clubs’ deals.

Sunderland has yet to replace W88 as it prepares for its first European campaign in more than 50 years. BBC Sport reported that the club believes its value has risen and is waiting for an agreement that reflects that position. The Sunderland Echo reported in July that a new partner would be announced in due course, though negotiations were still ongoing at the time of the BBC’s report.

The search comes after Premier League clubs collectively agreed in 2023 to remove gambling brands from the front of matchday shirts by the end of the 2025-26 season. Eleven top-flight teams used gambling companies in that position last season. Such brands can still appear in other inventory, including shirt sleeves and LED advertising, but they can no longer serve as a club’s primary front-of-shirt sponsor. Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham and Nottingham Forest have all changed sponsors since last season.