The history and future of sleeve sponsorship in Bundesliga
In recent years, sleeve sponsorship has become an important source of income in football. The extra space on the shirt provides another advertising opportunity for companies and an additional source of income for clubs. In this insight, we examine the development of this form of sponsorship in the German Bundesliga and take a look at future trends.
Mara Kottke
Published on July 2nd, 2024
In this Insight:
What are sleeve sponsorships?
Sleeve sponsorships are a form of sponsorship that exists in many sports, but is particularly prevalent in football. Companies place their logo on the sleeves of shirts, and this advertising space provides clubs with an additional source of income to the traditional main sponsorship on the front of the shirt. As sponsorship and advertising space in stadiums and on shirts is limited, sleeve sponsorship is becoming increasingly important and offers additional opportunities for both clubs and sponsors.
History of sleeve sponsoring
In the Bundesliga, corporate logos on shirts date back to the 1970s, when the liquor company Jägermeister became the league's first shirt sponsor when partnering with Eintracht Braunschweig. By the 1980s, shirt sponsorship was well established and company logos on the front of shirts had become a regular source of income for clubs.
Ahead of the 2017/18 season, we saw the biggest change to football shirt sponsorships in recent times as sleeve sponsorship were officially introduced in the Bundesliga, as well as the Premier League. In the Premier League, Chelsea with insurance group Allianz and Manchester City with Nexen Tire were considered pioneers, while in the Bundesliga, 17 out of 18 clubs had a sleeve sponsor: Borussia Dortmund with car manufacturer Opel, Hannover 96 with insurance company HDI and Hamburger SV with the food brand Popp Feinkost. Only SC Freiburg decided against having an additional sponsor on the sleeve for its introductory season, before adding Energy providers Badenova the following season.
Economic significance
Previously, shipping company Hermes had advertised on the sleeves of all Bundesliga clubs since 2013 - the income from this sponsorship was divided equally between the 36 Bundesliga and Bundesliga 2 clubs, totalling just under €200,000 per club. Income from sleeve sponsoring is now significantly higher. In the 2023-24 season, the average value of sleeve sponsorship rights in the Bundesliga was around €1.8 million.
Although the income from main sponsors is often significantly higher, sleeve sponsorships offer an important source of income for football clubs. It broadens the sponsorship landscape and offers the opportunity to place different companies on the most coveted piece of fabric in football. Major deals such as the one between Arsenal and Visit Rwanda, in which the country paid almost €34 million over three years for the placement on the sleeve, demonstrate the influence of this sponsorship category and the growing importance of this advertising space.
Future of sleeve sponsoring
Digitalisation and new technologies could have an even greater impact on sleeve sponsorship in the future. QR codes and NFC technology offer innovative advertising opportunities that can benefit fans (e.g. club news, player statistics, videos, exclusive competitions or contactless payment options), but also provide clubs and sponsors with insights into fan behaviour.
Conclusion
Both the evolution and current importance of sleeve sponsorship in football demonstrate how this form of sponsorship has become an important source of revenue for rights holders. Future trends and challenges, such as the integration of new technologies, will continue to change the landscape of sleeve sponsorship.
But whatever the future holds, sleeve sponsorship will continue to grow in importance for Bundesliga clubs and make an important contribution to the financial stability of clubs and the growth of football itself.
