Betting Brands Lost 11 Jersey Deals in One Summer

Welcome back. The Premier League opens on August 21 with no betting brands on the front of any jersey, the first season under an agreement clubs voted for in 2023. Six of the eight teams that needed a replacement have signed one. Our feature this week covers who took over the spots and where the gaming companies went.

Earlier this summer, Everton confirmed that Stake, its main partner for four seasons, would become the club’s official sleeve partner. Days later the Premier League club named CMC Markets, a British financial services and online trading firm, as its jersey-front sponsor across the men’s, women’s and Under-21 uniforms. Stake kept its branding at Hill Dickinson Stadium, Goodison Park and the Finch Farm training ground, but came off the chest.

Andrew Middleton, Everton’s president of business operations, said in the announcement that the sleeve deal “provides continuity with a partner that understands the Club.” Lord Peter Cruddas, founder and chief executive of CMC Markets, said in his company’s release that football “is one of the few passions in life that inspires lifelong commitment.”

Everton announced both positions within a week.

Premier League clubs voted for this change in April 2023. The league wrote that clubs had “collectively agreed to withdraw gambling sponsorship from the front of clubs’ matchday shirts,” the first league in the UK to do so voluntarily. The agreement covers the front of the game jersey, but nothing beyond that, leaving sleeves, practice gear, stadium advertising, LED boards and digital partnerships open. Clubs had until the end of last season to work through existing contracts.

Teams kept selling to the category anyway. Gambling brands held 11 of 20 jersey fronts last season, matching the season before it, through Aston Villa with Betano, Bournemouth with BJ88, Brentford with Hollywoodbets, Crystal Palace with NET88, Everton with Stake, Fulham with SBOTOP, Nottingham Forest with Bally’s and Sunderland with W88 (along with Burnley, West Ham and Wolverhampton, all three of which were relegated). Eight clubs needed a new sponsor for the most valuable space on the uniform heading into this season.

Six of the eight have signed one, Everton included. Fulham replaced SBOTOP with ClickHouse, a data platform whose customers include Meta, Tesla and OpenAI, a partner Fulham chief revenue officer Jon Don-Carolis described in the club’s announcement as “an ambitious, fast-growing technology company.” Crystal Palace took the open-source software firm Temporal in a multi-year agreement announced in May, which chief commercial officer Barry Webber called “a perfect fit” for a club that courts ambitious partners. Aston Villa signed Visit Rwanda. Brentford promoted its existing practice-gear partner, Indeed. Bournemouth moved Vitality, already the stadium sponsor, onto the jersey, in a deal the Guardian reported at roughly $5.4 million to $6.7 million (BJ88 had reportedly been paying more).

Financial services companies now hold six of the 20 jersey fronts, up from three last season, and technology and software has gone from one to five.

Aston Villa announced last month that Betano would move from the front of the jersey to the left sleeve on a three-year agreement running through 2028-29. Francesco Calvo, Villa’s president of business operations, said in a statement that the two sides would “further explore new avenues for growth together.”

Everton made the same move with Stake. Bournemouth signed MrQ to its sleeve. Tottenham Hotspur put Betano on its practice tops, replacing BetMGM, while Kaizen keeps Spurs as its official betting partner in Europe and Latin America through 2029.

So three clubs that had non-gambling sleeve partners last season have betting brands there now. What those sleeves cost is harder to establish, because the published estimates are far apart. One trade publication put Villa’s sleeve at about $13.4 million, against a former jersey front around double the price, while a sponsorship tracker put the sleeve closer to $5.5 million. Villa disclosed nothing beyond saying the new agreement improves on its previous sleeve deal with Trade Nation. Everton was silent on the financial impact.

Three clubs have yet to announce a jersey-front partner. Nottingham Forest and Sunderland are the two still working through the betting vacancy, while Chelsea’s blank front has nothing to do with the new policy — the team signed IFS last February in a deal that expired with the season.

Newcastle United put its 2026-27 home jersey on sale to fans with nothing on the front, then announced Knox Hydrate on June 23 on a three-year agreement covering the men’s, women’s and academy uniforms, alongside naming rights that turned Darsley Park into The Knox on July 1. Fans who already bought the blank jersey can have the logo applied later.

Visit Rwanda spent last season on Arsenal’s sleeve, on a deal that has since ended, and opens this one on the front of Aston Villa’s jersey. Betano and Stake made the same move in reverse. While this change was forced, it also created new opportunities.

Champ Kelly → Senior Vice President, Flag Football Operations, TMRW Sports
Kelly will handle competition, player personnel, coaching, officiating and team administration for the professional flag football league TMRW Sports is building with the NFL. He left the Miami Dolphins in April, closing a 19-season run through NFL front offices that included interim general manager stints in Miami and Las Vegas, three years as the Raiders’ assistant GM and seven with the Bears.

Christina Hennington → Chief Executive Officer, Minnesota United FC
Hennington left Target after 22 years, the last two as chief strategy and growth officer, and joined the club immediately. She succeeds Shari Ballard, who retires when the 2026 season ends and will work alongside Hennington until then. Minnesota United has now hired two CEOs in a row from outside soccer, with Ballard having come to the Loons after 26 years at Best Buy.

Ryan Madden → Executive Associate Athletic Director and Chief Brand & Revenue Officer, Wake Forest
Wake Forest hired Madden to run its communications, creative, fan experience and sales units, plus the chief spokesperson job. He put in five years at Austin FC, first as vice president of communications and media and then as senior vice president of marketing, a stretch in which the club sold out all 96 of its regular season and playoff home matches at Q2 Stadium. Before Austin he led marketing, communications and community for the USL league office, and he worked at the Colorado Rapids and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency earlier in his career.

Drew Speraw → Vice President of Men’s Basketball, Pac-12 Conference
Speraw started July 31, running Pac-12 men’s basketball administration, championships and competitive policy, and serving as the league’s main contact for member schools. He joined the WAC in 2022 and rose to senior associate commissioner for basketball and conference services, most recently serving as senior vice president for UAC basketball at Unisun Sports, the joint venture the conference formed with the ASUN when it rebranded as the United Athletic Conference on July 1. Kansas State employed him for nearly a decade prior, one year as men’s basketball video coordinator and nine as director of basketball operations.

Eddie Pope → Senior Vice President, Sporting Development, Major League Soccer
Pope carries a second title, senior vice president of competition and operations for MLS NEXT Pro, and reports to Ali Curtis, who runs sporting development for the league and serves as NEXT Pro president. He takes charge of NEXT Pro’s competition, medical, player relations and operations departments, and will direct on-field innovation and rules work across MLS, NEXT Pro and MLS NEXT. A three-time MLS Cup winner with 82 U.S. national team caps, he moves to the league office from Carolina Core FC, where he was chief sporting officer, with prior stops at Octagon and the MLS Players Association.

Chris Jensen → Business Director, PWHL San Jose
Jensen grew up in San Jose and now builds the business side of the city’s new PWHL club. He ran group ticket sales for the Golden State Warriors starting in 2022, after six seasons with the Sharks, where the ticketing department named him its Shark of the Year for 2017-18. Four expansion clubs open play in 2026-27, growing the league from eight teams to 12.

Taylor Young → Director of Ticket Sales, Miami University (Ohio)
Young spent three years running ticketing for the ECHL’s Cincinnati Cyclones before the Miami job. He handled season and single-game inventory in Cincinnati along with corporate groups and suites, following stops with the Charlotte Knights, the State College Spikes and the Akron RubberDucks. Miami gives him plenty to sell. The men’s basketball team finished 32-2 last season and 18-0 in the MAC, the only unbeaten regular season in Division I, and the women’s team won the MAC tournament for the first time since 2008.

Ticket pricing and streaming together carried more than two-thirds of everything fans said about the business of sports last week, according to our Fan Sentiment Index. The analysis: Both complaints come down to the same gap, between the price on the screen and the price at checkout, which puts the fix in how costs get displayed rather than in what they are. The full Index is on our website.

Vice President, Communications & Public Affairs — Charlotte Hornets (Charlotte): Leads the communications strategy for Hornets Sports & Entertainment, reporting to the Chief Communications Officer and serving as a strategic advisor to the President and Executive Leadership Team on organizational messaging, reputation management, and executive positioning. Cultivates relationships across local and national media, NBA Communications, broadcast partners, digital creators, and influencers, and owns internal communications and crisis strategy. Partners with the Vice President of Basketball Communications to keep business and basketball messaging unified, and builds and leads the communications team. Learn more and apply here.

Director, Revenue Marketing & Fan Development — Phoenix Suns (Phoenix): Oversees the Revenue Marketing and Fan Development teams, reporting to the Senior Director, Marketing. Owns performance marketing across paid digital, traditional, and emerging channels, along with the marketing behind single game tickets, memberships, premium seating, suites, group sales, and retention. Works with Ticket Sales, Business Intelligence, and Ticket Operations to align campaigns against inventory and demand, and leads campaign measurement, attribution, and audience segmentation. The fan development side adds multicultural and emerging audience initiatives and long-term fan lifetime value, so the role carries the ticket revenue number and the audience growth strategy at once. Learn more and apply here.

Director, Strategy and Special Projects — Chicago Fire FC (Chicago): Works directly with Chicago Fire FC’s executive leadership team, taking the club’s highest-priority initiatives from concept through execution across operations, stadium development, finance, commercial strategy, ticketing, marketing, and corporate partnerships. Builds the financial models, business cases, operating plans, and executive presentations behind leadership meetings, ownership updates, and Board of Governors meetings. Also leads initiatives supporting the development, opening, and long-term operation of McDonald's Park. The role comes with significant exposure to senior leadership. Learn more and apply here.

Senior Associate Athletic Director, Development — Long Beach State (Long Beach, CA): Leads Long Beach State Athletics’ comprehensive philanthropic strategy as the department’s chief athletics development officer, overseeing major gifts, annual giving, planned giving, donor stewardship, campaigns, and fundraising operations. Manages a team of six and personally carries a portfolio of major and principal gift prospects, including donations at the $1 million level from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Also serves as Sport Supervisor for an NCAA Division I men’s and women’s program, oversight that extends past fundraising into the broader department. Learn more and apply here.

Manager, Corporate Partnership Sales — Washington Nationals (Washington, DC): Sells the Nationals’ available partnership inventory with a focus on the local Washington, D.C., business community, across in-park, radio, hospitality, and internet and new media channels. Reports to the VP, Corporate Partnerships, and drives lead generation through category analysis, writes and presents sponsorship proposals, and retains and grows an assigned book of business. Serves as the liaison between the Corporate Partnerships department and team concessionaire Levy, and works across partnerships and marketing to maximize cross-selling opportunities. Learn more and apply here.

Albert × Los Angeles Lakers: Albert takes over the Lakers' jersey patch under a multi-year agreement that takes effect in 2026-27. The financial-assistant app replaces Bibigo on the upper-left chest of all four jersey designs.

Marriott Bonvoy × Inter Miami CF: Inter Miami named Marriott Bonvoy its official hotel and loyalty partner in a long-term agreement, with financial terms unreleased. The deal is Marriott Bonvoy’s first with an MLS club, and the program also joins as a founding partner of the Miami Freedom Park development.

Microsoft Surface × Manchester United: Surface branding will appear on the back of the club's jerseys in 2026-27, with Snapdragon staying on the front. The arrangement covers the women’s team and academy uniforms as well.

Panini America × NJ/NY Gotham FC: Gotham FC signed Panini America as its official trading card partner in a multi-year deal. It is Panini’s first club-level agreement in the NWSL since the company became the exclusive trading card partner of the league and the NWSLPA.

REV Fiber × LSU Athletics: REV Fiber will be the official internet partner of LSU Athletics from the 2026-27 season under a multi-year agreement. The designation is exclusive.

SRM Concrete × Vanderbilt Athletics: SRM Concrete expanded an existing Vanderbilt partnership into an all-sports jersey patch, a multi-year deal that starts in 2026-27. Vanderbilt joins Arkansas and LSU among SEC schools carrying patches.

Bank of America × Carolina Panthers: The bank extended its naming rights to Bank of America Stadium, where its name has appeared since 2004. Neither party attached a value to the extension. The deal is tied to a stadium renovation budgeted above $1.3 billion; the venue also hosts Charlotte FC.

See you next Wednesday.