Manchester United locked in a £20 million annual training kit sponsorship with Betway, the richest such deal in football. The betting company takes over starting next season, replacing a three-year partnership with blockchain platform Tezos that's now dead.
The shift marks a sharp turn away from crypto. Tezos paid roughly £20-25 million yearly when the deal started, but the XTZ token cratered alongside the broader market collapse. United spent the entire 2025/26 season without any training kit sponsor while hunting for alternatives. Betway's offer matched the lower end of Tezos money but came without the token volatility that kept the club exposed to price swings.
Gambling rules reshape sponsor playbook
Premier League regulations tightened the vise. Starting next season, betting firms can't slap logos on front-of-shirt jerseys anymore. That left companies like Betway scrambling for new real estate, training kits, sleeve patches, stadium signage, anywhere the rules still allow. United's training kit became prime real estate.
Even traditional betting operators aren't fully abandoning digital assets. Betway's parent, Super Group, launched its own stablecoin called ZAR Supercoin in November 2025. The Manchester deal doesn't directly tie to that coin, but the move signals betting companies still see blockchain infrastructure as part of tomorrow's business model.
The deal shows how fast elite football's crypto romance cooled. Tezos looked solid three years ago, offering brands a way to tap into NFT hype and blockchain credibility. Reality proved messier. Token prices plummeted, regulatory pressure mounted, and clubs discovered the old-school betting sponsors offered steadier cash with fewer headaches.
This article is informational only and does not constitute financial advice. Cryptocurrency and sports sponsorship markets remain highly volatile.
