Tottenham Hotspur have a busy summer ahead as they begin their search for a new manager along with new players to strengthen their ranks.
On Friday, Tottenham stunned the football world by sacking Ange Postecoglou, despite the Australian having ended Spurs’ trophy drought just a few weeks ago.
Ange Postecoglou led Tottenham to Europa League glory, giving the club their first trophy since 2008 and first European triumph since 1984.
In addition, Tottenham’s Europa League win means they have now qualified for the Champions League, which in turn opens up a world of potential on numerous fronts.
Not only are Tottenham more likely to attract the top players thanks to their place in Europe’s top club competition, but they could attract more lucrative sponsorship deals too.
Indeed, it has now been reported that Tottenham are actually underselling their front-of-shirt and sleeve sponsorship, which means a bumper payday could be on the cards in the coming years.
Tottenham ‘undervalued’ by more than £9million per year
The Sponsor has published its annual Premier League fair market sponsorship values research, covering all 20 clubs’ front-of-shirt and sleeve sponsorship assets.
The results show that some clubs and sponsors are getting a great deal, while others are overpaying – and Tottenham are one of the most undervalued clubs around.
Spurs’ current Fair Market Value (FMV) is deemed to be £49.1million, while their current front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with AIA is reported to be £40million per year.
As per the methodology in place, Tottenham are undervalued by £9.1million, with just Liverpool above them (deemed undervalued by £15.9million).
Alongside the prospect of increasing their front-of-shirt sponsorship deal once the AIA deal expires in 2027, there’s also the enticing prospect of the stadium naming rights.
Adam Williams, TBR Football’s Head of Football Finance and Governance Content, has explained how Tottenham could find themselves with an additional £600million-plus in the wake of The Sponsor’s latest FMV report.
How revised front-of-shirt deal and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium naming rights could fetch the club a further £600million
“I think it’s always worth taking these pieces of research with a pinch of salt,” Williams exclusively tells TBR Football.
“Ultimately, ‘value’ is subjective, but this is a good guide and entry point into the valuations backed up by real expertise.
“One thing to note is that the headline figures we see with front-of-shirt sponsors often don’t tell the full story.
“Clubs like Spurs will get a significant chunk of the money as basic fee. That means they’ll get, let’s say, £30m upfront and then another £10m of the £40m fee is dependent on performance on the pitch and other factors.
“Some clubs choose to report the top-end of that potential sum, whereas others will be more conservative.
“I don’t know how Spurs have handled the deal with AIA specifically, but I do know that he has signalled at fan forums and such that Spurs will project revenue more conservatively generally speaking. So the reported £40m they get from AIA might actually be a little higher.
“Either way, the AIA deal expires in 2027. They will be considering their options now. I think a lot will depend on sporting performance between now and then. If Spurs can capitalise on Champions League football next season and kick on, then they are a really good sponsorship prospect.
“The deal has been worth £320m all-told, or thereabouts depending on the fixed and variable pay. With the direction of travel with sponsorship in general, I think they’ll be looking for another £5-10m on their current rate.
“With Spurs, there is always the stadium naming rights issue too. They don’t seem in a hurry to get a naming rights deal – indeed, the commercial department has said as much.
“But if they do decide to go down the naming rights route, announcing it alongside a front-of-shirt deal would have maximum impact.
“If they choose that approach, I think £60m-a-year is realistic. You’re also almost certainly looking at a 10-year deal in that case, so you’d be getting towards a £600m figure.
“There are a fair few ifs and buts there, but having that kind of revenue guaranteed allows you to plan several seasons in advance as far as transfer budgets etc are concerned.”