Chelsea confirms Samsung’s extension

07 September 2012 | Posted in Sponsorship, Soccer, Europe | By Tom Love

European champions Chelsea has confirmed to Bloomberg that shirt sponsor Samsung is to continue its US$23.9 million annual agreement with the club.

The news is unlikely to be formally announced, with Samsung electing to take up an option to continue with its current agreement until 2015.

The Korean electronics giant had until the end of June to decide whether to continue a relationship that began in 2005.

Chelsea, owned by Russian Roman Abramovich, negotiated an improved deal in July 2009 which included a renewal option.

There had been speculation that Samsung, which has made headlines recently less for its worldwide Olympic sponsorship during London 2012 and more for being forced to pay Apple US$1.05 billion by a US court for copying its technology, might end its deal with the early Premier League leaders.

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Samsung's decision to continue means, however, that Chelsea continue to receive less income from its shirt sponsorship deal than Premier League rivals Manchester United and Liverpool.

In July Manchester United confirmed a deal with General Motors which will see its Chevrolet brand become the club's shirt sponsor in 2014. That deal is believed to be worth some US$559 million over seven years, nearly US$80 million per season.

And despite its struggles on the field, Liverpool have a shirt deal with Standard Chartered worth over US$33 million per season.

Premier League champions Manchester City also receive significant financial backing from airline Etihad, which is bound up in the club's Abu Dhabi ownership.

Samsung, meanwhile, now faces the prospect of changes to its worldwide Olympic partnership agreement. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is thought to be considering re-defining sponsorship categories related to technology, given the advent of new tablet devices and the potential clashes between current partners that may result.

Picture shows recent Brazilian signing Oscar holding the Samsung-sponsored Chelsea shirt.