9 Dec 2008Gazidis to focus on review of £117m worth of sponsorship deals

Football Sponsors/ Sponsorship and Media

New Arsenal chief executive officer Ivan Gazidis has been charged with reviewing a number of the club's existing sponsorship deals, according to reports yesterday (December 8th).

At present, the Gunners receive £6 million per year for their shirt sponsorship deal with Emirates - which runs until 2014 - with the company also paying for stadium naming rights until 2021.

In addition, the club have a deal with Nike which is worth £8 million per year and runs until 2011, with an option to extend it by a further three years.

The deals, which were negotiated by Gazidis' predecessor, Keith Edelman, do not compare favourably to those of rivals Manchester United and Chelsea.

United receive £14 million year from troubled shirt sponsors AIG plus £23 million per year from Nike, while the Blues net £10 million per year from Adidas and £11 million per year from Samsung.

A source close to the Arsenal board revealed: "Keith successfully negotiated the deals with Emirates and Nike when cash was desperately needed up front to complete the stadium but they now appear weak.

"When Ivan was being interviewed one thing that was spoken about was how to increase revenue streams and, even in these tough times, the club believes there is the potential to negotiate more profitable contracts."

Gazidis may choose to follow the lead of Chelsea chief executive Peter Kenyon, who paid £24.5 million to end the club's deal with Umbro five years ahead of schedule.

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