Liverpool are in talks with cryptocurrency and blockchain companies as they look for shirt sponsors from the 2023/24 campaign onwards.
A recent report from The Athletic has shed some light on the future of Liverpool’s shirt sponsor. Their current £40 million per year deal with Standard Chartered expires at the end of next season. Although the club are in talks with the banking giants over renewing the contract, they have a few other alternatives as well.
The Athletic claims Liverpool are talking to companies across the electronics, tourism and media sectors. Along with those companies, Liverpool are also in talks with a cryptocurrency exchange as well as a blockchain platform.
Cryptocurrencies, which are essentially a decentralised digital currency and blockchains, a decentralised computer networks, have gained prominence across the world over the past couple of years.
As we seemingly become reliant on computers and the internet, the idea of digital ownerships, including NFT artwork has revolutionised the modern financial system, with many predicting crypto and NFT to become the future of finance.
In light of such prominence, a handful of Premier League clubs including Leeds United and Manchester City have recently agreed sponsorship deals with Socios, which offer FTO or Fan Token Offerings.
Liverpool themselves had recently launched NFTs of star figures among the club. But the move did not yield the desired revenue, with the club selling less than 10,000 out of 171,000 NFTs, though a major part of the earnings was donated to the LFC Foundation.
While sponsorship deals with NFT firms have already been a thing lately, reaching a shirt sponsorship deal could be a first in the Premier League. The Reds have had Standard Chartered on the front of their shirts since the 2010/11 campaign, but it appears a change could be in the offing next year.
The report suggests Liverpool are looking for a fee of around £70 million over the next two years from their shirt-sponsorship deal, regardless of the company involved. Any deal with crypto or an NFT firm could certainly lead to controversy as there are many who question the lack of regulation in the digital currency or digital artwork.
