Which Brands Sponsor Liverpool and For How Much?

There are numerous different revenue streams available to football clubs, from ticket and merchandise sales to cashing in on their most valuable assets: their players.

But one of the most profitable and reliable income streams for outfits like Liverpool is commercial revenue, a catch-all term dominated by sponsorships and agreements penned with brands from across the globe.

For context, the Reds make around £600 million per year from these commercial deals – essential, really, given that their Premier League rivals dominate the list of richest football clubs on the planet.

To remain competitive at the top level, these deals will need to keep on coming – happily, Liverpool’s commercial team seem to be on the ball, with a raft of sponsors from a wide range of industries on board.

But which brands pay the most into the coffers of Liverpool FC?

Standard Chartered (£50 million per year)

Standard Chartered Bank

Liverpool have resisted the urge to cash in on their front-of-shirt sponsorship with a betting company or cryptocurrency operator, which has been the norm in recent times.

Instead, they have enjoyed a long-term cooperation with Standard Chartered, the international banking outfit.

The partnership between the two now dates back some 17 years – making it one of the longest-running deals of its kind at the elite level.

And there’s no sign of it coming to an end soon, either, with a contract extension penned in 2022 that will continue the agreement until the end of the 2026/27 campaign.

Nike (£30 million per year)

Liverpool’s previous kit manufacturer deal with New Balance came to a seismic end in 2019 – indeed, lawyers were called in after the Reds wanted out of the agreement despite the firm having an automatic extension clause if they matched a rival offer.

Nike stepped into the breach with a £30 million a year deal, which seems on the low side compared to the contracts penned by Chelsea (Nike, £60 million per year) and Manchester United (Adidas, £90 million per year).

The caveat is that the Reds earn 20% of all Liverpool-Nike branded merchandise sales worldwide, although that is unlikely to make up for the shortfall.

Interestingly, the Nike deal comes to an end in 2025, at which point you can guarantee that Liverpool will be seeking a more substantial offer.

AXA Insurance (£20 million per year)

Modern clubs are looking at news to drive revenue into the kitty, and one of the methods that has gained in popularity in recent times is to effectively sell off the naming rights to their training facilities.

Hence, the AXA Training Centre was born – Liverpool’s facility that bears the name of the insurance firm.

For that privilege, and to have their branding emblazoned on the Reds’ training apparel, AXA fork out around £20 million per season in a deal that dates back to 2019.

Expedia (£15 million per year)

Whether they get a discount when making their excursions to Europe remains to be seen, but Liverpool are still coining it in thanks to their £15 million per season agreement with travel operator Expedia.

The firm agreed a four-year, £60 million deal to have their branding on the club’s shirt sleeves back earlier in 2023.

“Travel is an incredibly important part of our fans’ matchday experience, so we are proud to have a world leader in travel as part of the LFC family,” so said commercial director Ben Latty when welcoming Expedia to the Reds’ growing band of commercial partners.

Carlsberg (£10 million per year)

No self-respecting football club can be without an official ‘beer partner’, can they?

In truth, Liverpool’s relationship with Carlsberg dates back decades – back to the 1990s, in fact, when they were the principal kit sponsor for the famous shirts worn by the likes of Robbie Fowler, Steve McManaman and John Barnes.

The connection between the Danish brewers and Liverpool will continue until the end of the 2023/24 season at least – marking the thirtieth anniversary of their partnership.

UPS, Peloton and Google Pixel (£35 million per year combined)

Three of the newest members of the Liverpool FC family are UPS, Peloton and Google Pixel, who all penned sponsorship deals with the club in 2023.

It’s not known how much they are paying individually for the right, but collectively it has been reported that the trio will swell the Reds’ coffers to the tune of £35 million per season.

UPS will become the club’s first ‘official global logistics and shipping partner’, and in the words of the famous terrace chant ‘you’ll never sing that’.