The price Sheffield United want Premier League shirt sponsor to pay
Sheffield United have spent the past week holding talks with potential shirt sponsors, as Bramall Lane’s hierarchy hope to exploit the financial opportunities Premier League status brings.
Although United’s existing arrangement with Randox Health still has another year to run, the contract they brokered with the Northern Irish firm contained a break clause in the event Paul Heckingbottom’s side were promoted from the Championship.
This was designed to prevent United from missing out on a bumper payday by tying themselves to an agreement signed when they were in the second tier. It also served to protect Randox, who now have an option to redraft their deal with United to reflect their standing within the game.
The Star understands that clubs in similar positions to United can ordinarily expect to receive between £4m and £6m from companies whose logos are emblazoned across the front of their jerseys. The fact that members of the business community have reported that Bramall Lane’s commercial department has begun contacting potential partners suggests that either Randox have elected not to up their payments or United’s hierarchy believe they can enter into a more lucrative arrangement with another firm. If they do, it is unclear whether Randox will also lose their naming rights at United’s youth academy, which they acquired from its previous backers Steelphalt.
United took the decision several years ago not to broker kit deals with betting or alcohol-related organisations, to reflect cultural sensitivities in Saudi Arabia; the homeland of their owner Prince Abdullah bin Musa’ad bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
