First-order effects

• Premier League clubs gain a sizable alternative pool of sponsorship revenue as they reduce gambling partnerships, while crypto firms secure prominent access to football audiences.
• Crypto sponsors become more central commercial partners for clubs, increasing the visibility of a sector that has previously drawn criticism over fan-facing products.

Second-order effects

• Competition for Premier League sponsorship inventory may intensify among crypto brands and other categories seeking the slots vacated by gambling operators, affecting clubs’ negotiating leverage and partner mix.
• The scale of these deals is likely to renew scrutiny of whether crypto sponsorships and fan products expose supporters to risks similar to those associated with other restricted marketing categories, particularly after earlier losses in club-linked crypto tokens.

Third-order effects

• If crypto capital continues to replace gambling money, football sponsorship could become a test case for regulatory gaps: commercial rights may shift faster than rules designed around older high-risk categories.
• The more durable change is a broader diversification of club revenue away from a single regulated sponsor class, though the resilience of that shift depends on crypto sponsors sustaining commitments after the post-FTX sponsorship rethink.