Premier League decision explained: Why Chelsea's Paramount Plus deal was blocked | OneFootball

Chelsea have had a torrid time of it in the last 18 months.

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Since Roman Abramovich was forced to sell due to his ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, new owner Todd Boehly has spent half a billion pounds on transfers, burned through three different managers, and overseen a squad that has finished in its lowest league position since 1994.

With Mauricio Pochettino officially unveiled as the Blues’ new head coach, the Chelsea faithful have been given reason to be optimistic heading into a new dawn. Due to financial fair play concerns, a proposed £40 million deal between American streaming giant Paramount Plus and Chelsea gave the West London club a life raft worth millions to circumnavigate any FFP sanctions. Unfortunately, that deal to be Chelsea’s new shirt sponsor has been derailed, with the Premier League refusing permission to many fans’ dismay.

What exactly about the prospective corporate move was the Premier League so averse to? Let’s take a look…

Why are the Premier League blocking the Chelsea and Paramount Plus deal?

It was reported by the Daily Mail that Chelsea and Paramount Plus’ proposed deal to take over from current sponsor Three was being blocked by the Premier League due to fears that it would cause issues with current broadcasters.

NBC are the American channel with all the rights to Premier League football, and as direct competitors of Paramount Plus, the Premier League were clearly not prepared to jeopardise their relationship with the US-based company, with whom they have a £2 billion broadcasting rights deal.

On top of the American outfit’s potential protestations, there were also concerns over the reaction of BT Sport, Sky Sports, and Amazon - the Premier League’s current UK broadcast partners, who the top flight's body feared may also have problems with a deal of that nature.

The Premier League cited the Deed of License and its contents as a reason for preventing the deal from going through. The contract held between the League’s 20 clubs and the Premier League has clear and stringent rules on broadcasting and media matters.

Is the Premier League blocking Paramount Plus good news for fans?

In theory, live Premier League action is more accessible now than ever before, whether it be through PPV packages, streaming services, major host broadcasters, or illegal streaming, football is available at the click of a button. That said, the consumption of the sport all comes at a substantial cost to the football fan, from incurring the often astronomical cost of paying for three, or more dedicated host channels, to paying the price for employing illegal streaming platforms in the form of a potentially hefty criminal conviction.

Normal football fans are being priced out of watching their teams, and the over-abundance of choice, or lack thereof has meant inaccessibility has become prevalent.

While denying Chelsea a new multi-million-pound sponsor in Paramount+ won’t be well-received in West London, the Premier League are indirectly protecting fans from potentially having another direct debit on their bank statements, even if they’re only really doing it to avoid ramifications with current broadcasters.

Who will Chelsea’s new shirt sponsor be?

With any chance of the Paramount Plus deal scuppered by Premier League bosses, the Blues, and Boehly are consequently forced to look elsewhere for a new front-of-shirt deal.

According to reports, Chelsea have entered into talks with cryptocurrency firm Stake.com, a sponsor that will be familiar to both Everton and Watford fans, with both clubs sporting the company's logo on their shirts over the last two seasons. This certainly won’t be a long-term partnership like that of Chelsea and Samsung. For the simple fact, the ban imposed on on-shirt gambling sponsors is set to come into play in 2025.