Arsenal’s renaissance on the pitch has been fuelled by a financial upturn behind the scenes. Commercial and matchday income is booming, with funds reinvested in the squad.
It is the growth of these two income streams which allowed Arsenal, who remain atop the Premier League despite a recent dip in performance levels, to finish the summer transfer window with a £250m net spend.
Owner Stan Kroenke – whose son, Josh Kroenke, is now the family’s all-seeing eye at the Emirates Stadium – has invested heavily to get the Gunners to this point.
The Denver-based billionaire has lent the club close to £400m, which has been reinvested in players and improving the club’s physical and digital infrastructure. That has simultaneously made Arsenal Champions League perennials once again and improved core revenue through ticketing, retail and sponsorship.
Arsenal’s commercial/matchday income is BOOMING
Apart from expanding the Emirates, what else can the Kroenkes do to increase revenue?
The latest commercial partnership is with Deel, who will replace controversial Visit Rwanda as Arsenal’s shirt sleeve sponsor from 2026-27. The value of the deal with the HR software company isn’t known, although it is said to represent a significant uplift on the previous £10m-a-year arrangement.
In the club’s latest financial accounts, which are made up to the end of the 2023-24 season, total commercial income had risen by almost £50m to £218m. Once the 2024-25 accounts are out in the spring, that figure is expected to reach close to £250m.
When Arsenal Insider speaks to industry contacts, a number of factors are routinely cited as behind the club’s commercial revival:
- Increase in volume of sponsors – Arsenal have 26 sponsors; only Man City (36) have more
- More clearly defined sponsorship categories – able to offer partners clear upside in deals
- Sophisticated merchandise strategy – tapping into streetwear culture
- Leveraging Kroenke Sports & Entertainment – co-ordinated approach across KSE-owned teams
- Blue-chip brands – 14 of Arsenal’s sponsors are now in Global Fortune 500
And one of Arsenal’s latest deals, with Paramount+, is emblematic of the commercial world that the North Londoners now inhabit.
Arsenal’s Paramount+ deal comes amid historic Warner Bros sale process; Chelsea deal blocked
In 2023, Chelsea were blocked from signing a front-of-shirt deal with Paramount because of concerns that it could represent a conflict of interest with the Premier League’s existing rightsholders.
It is not surprising that Arsenal have had no issues getting their Paramount deal over the line in late November. After all, it is a much more modest partnership than Chelsea’s proposed shirt agreement, which would have been worth £40m-plus annually.
It is perhaps flattering, however, that Paramount+ have chosen to partner with Arsenal at a time when they are plotting unprecedented expansion in the global entertainment business.
Yet ANOTHER major Arsenal sponsorship deal
Who else would you like to see the club partner with? 🤔
In July, Paramount merged with Skydance, creating a new media behemoth. Significantly. Paramount+ has also paid £2.2bn to become the new home of the Champions League in the UK from 2027.
And if they get their way, Paramount-Skydance could also soon swallow up Warner Bros.
Paramount’s $108bn bid for the iconic entertainment corporation is believed to be second-favourite to Netflix’s own proposal, but the historic battle for control of the company which owns the rights to Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, DC Comics and dozens of other franchises has some way to go yet.
Arsenal see themselves as a media company
For Arsenal, the context is that elite football clubs are increasingly seeing themselves as media companies as much as sports institutions.
They want to package and sell their own content, as well as partnering with experts in the field like Paramount in order to capitalise on their global fanbases outside of matchdays.
Eventually, the dream is to one day sell their own broadcast rights, although we are likely decades from that eventuality, if it ever happens at all.
“Football clubs are a megaphone for broadcasters,” says University of Liverpool football finance lecturer Kieran Maguire, speaking exclusively to Arsenal Insider.
“Having the potential to get the inside track on a club with the gravitas, history and heritage of Arsenal can be very advantageous for Paramount.
“They have transformed themselves on the pitch and there are plenty of commercial partners who want to ride that wave.
“Football sells, and Paramount are looking to expand their subscriber base. The Arsenal deal is another way of tapping into that.
“From Arsenal’s point of view, could they look at another documentary? It needs to be a partnership and a long-term relationship because that’s where the real benefits are.”
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