Is the lack of stadium naming rights a concern for Tottenham Hotspur?

This week the NFL announced that they will be playing two games in the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this season. In three weeks’ time, Tottenham Hotspur will have completed their second full season in their billion-pound stadium. However, despite the NFL participation and two years of matches, the stadium still lacks a naming sponsor, should we be worried about that?

Most EPL Stadiums are not sponsored

Sure Tottenham makes annual sojourns to the AMEX, and to the Ethihad, and to the Emirates, however, there are actually far fewer sponsored stadiums in the Premier League than there are sponsored stadiums. In addition to the three stadiums mentioned for Brighton, Manchester City, and Arsenal, Newcastle and Leicester City have stadium naming sponsors and that is it.

That is the stark reality that only five of the 20 teams, just 25% of the teams have named sponsors. The reality in England is that is much greater sponsorship with stadiums as you go down the football pyramid.

Some of the teams with sponsors are former Premier League clubs like Wigan Athletic or AFC Bournemouth, who play at DW Stadium and Vitality Park, maned after their sponsors. Other Championship clubs like Stoke City and Huddersfield Town also have sponsors.

Many sponsored stadiums are actually found at the League Two level. Oldham Athletic, Leyton Orient, and Stevenage are all examples of League Two teams that have sponsors for their respective stadiums.

What exactly is Tottenham missing out on?

How much money Tottenham Hotspur is actually missing out on by not having sold the stadium naming rights is actually quite debatable. On the one hand, you have the Etihad and the over £15 million City receives annually or those rights.

On the other end, you have King Power, who reportedly pays Leicester City something around £4 million annually for both Stadium and shirt sponsorship.

Of course in both of those instances, it is the owner doing the sponsoring and that is not what ENIC is likely to do.

If ENIC really wants to leverage their earnings in this situation they would look to the NFL, where some teams have really been able to cash in. The LA Rams are reportedly receiving nearly $30 million (~£21.3 million) annually from Sofi for naming rights to their new stadium.

However, even in the US, especially in the current economic climate, not all the deals are huge. According to Forbes, Empower pays the Denver Broncos only about $3 million or about £2.1million annually for naming rights to their stadium.

Another example is the Miami Marlins, who after nine years announced their first naming partner loan depot back in March of this year. The US Major League Baseball team is set to receive just under $8 million (£5.6m) a year. In addition to the real money, the loan depot is donating $50 (£36/€43) for every run the Marlins score.

This money is being donated to the Marlins foundation to help support the local Boys & Girls Club of Miami. In this instance, both the team and loan depot are trying to leverage the opportunity for something more and hopefully, kids will be the beneficiaries.

Now is the hold-up on the Spurs naming rights about finding the right philanthropic partner as well as an economic one, not likely. However, given the changing landscape over the last two years with Covid and the fact the most of the teams in the Premier League do not currently receive naming rights revenue, Levy and Tottenham can wait a bit longer until the right deal comes along.

That said, with the chances of any European football growing slimmer by the day, some extra cash from selling the naming rights may be just what the team needs. So what do you hope the stadium is called?