Chelsea and Sunderland are the only two Premier League clubs set to begin the 2026-27 season without a front-of-shirt sponsor — and the reasons behind each club's situation are quite different.

Chelsea's long game

For Chelsea, entering a fourth consecutive season without a primary shirt sponsor is a deliberate commercial strategy rather than a failure to attract interest. The club are holding out for a long-term deal that reflects their standing as one of Europe's biggest clubs.

Industry sources suggest Chelsea are targeting a fee in the range of £50m to £55m per season, though a figure of £65m had been widely quoted earlier in negotiations. However, the club's failure to qualify regularly for the UEFA Champions League has complicated matters — European football exposure is a key driver of sponsorship value.

According to The Sponsor, which publishes an annual Premier League fair market value index for shirt sponsorships, Chelsea's projected front-of-shirt value dropped from £50.3m to £33.6m at the end of last season. That decline reflects the commercial cost of underperforming on the pitch relative to expectations.

Chelsea acknowledge that a cut-price, short-term deal could be agreed quickly, but the club view that path as counterproductive. Their existing 15-year kit partnership with Nike — worth £900m in total, or approximately £60m per season — is already considered below market value when compared with agreements signed by some of Europe's leading clubs. Accepting a similarly undervalued shirt deal would only compound that problem.

Instead, Chelsea have opted for interim arrangements in recent campaigns. Artificial intelligence and industrial software company IFS sponsored the club for the final three months of last season, following similar short-term agreements with Infinite Athlete and Damac in previous years.

Manchester United's partnership with TeamViewer is cited by Chelsea as a comparable deal that also required lengthy negotiations — offering some context for why the process is taking time.

Sunderland and the gambling ban

Sunderland's situation stems from a league-wide regulatory change. From the 2026-27 season onwards, Premier League clubs are prohibited from displaying gambling company branding as their primary front-of-shirt sponsor.

Sunderland's previous deal with gambling company W88 has expired, and the club have yet to confirm a replacement. In July, the Sunderland Echo reported that an announcement would come in due course, with negotiations described as ongoing. BBC Sport have approached Sunderland for comment.

The gambling ban was agreed collectively by Premier League clubs in 2023, with a deadline set at the end of the 2025-26 season. Last term, 11 top-flight sides carried gambling sponsors on their matchday shirts — three of those clubs were subsequently relegated. The remaining seven, including Aston Villa, Bournemouth, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Everton, Fulham, and Nottingham Forest, have all secured new sponsors ahead of the new campaign.

Gambling brands are still permitted on shirt sleeves and LED pitch-side advertising. The ban on front-of-shirt gambling logos also meant that under-18 players had already been appearing in sponsor-free jerseys, as existing rules prohibited minors from wearing gambling branding. The change follows a consultation involving the league, its clubs, and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport as part of the government's wider review of gambling legislation.