Exclusive: Hundred franchises could do own sponsorship deals
Teams in the Hundred could soon be allowed to negotiate their own front-of-shirt sponsorship deals, as the England and Wales Cricket Board, counties and prospective investors finalise the sale process.
The ECB struck deals to sell 49 per cent stakes in the eight Hundred franchises to a variety of international investors earlier this year in deals that valued the teams at close to £1bn. But haggling from the buyers has held up completion of the sales, forcing the ECB and bankers the Raine Group to extend their deadline last week.
City PM understands a key concession that could be made involves sponsorship deals. The current arrangement sees KP Snacks’ various brands – including Hula Hoops, McCoy’s and Butterkist – adorning team kits as part of a deal that is reported to run until 2028.
But prospective Hundred franchise owners could soon be able to do their own deals, beginning by selling space to sponsors on the sleeves of their shirts and then incorporating the front of shirts when the KP Snacks deal concludes.
It would allow the owners, who have placed down huge sums of money to buy a stake in one of the teams, to claw back some of their expenditure.
Hundred concessions
The Hundred’s eight mini-auctions saw eight ownership groups take stakes in teams based across the country. Some – such as India’s mega-wealthy Ambani family and a consortium of tech executives from Google, Microsoft and Adobe – bought 49 per cent stakes, while the Sun Group and RPSG group, owners of Sunrisers Hyderabad and Lucknow Super Giants respectively, took majority stakes.
Those deals aren’t concluded, however, with negotiations ongoing between host counties and the prospective owners in an exclusivity period. It is understood that some want a reduction in investment cost, while others want further concessions.
Four of the eight prospective owners are also shareholders in the Indian Premier League. Oval Invincibles will have a Mumbai Indians relationship through the Ambani family, Southern Brave have a connection with Delhi Capitals through GMR Group, Manchester Originals will be in the same family as the Lucknow Super Giants and Northern Supercharges will be entirely owned by Sunrisers Hyderabad’s owners.
Those new owners could choose to seek sponsors aimed at the UK and European markets or pivot to Indian brands if, as they hope, the Hundred can build a substantial audience in Asia. The ECB declined to comment.