Manchester United swaps crypto for casinos with record £20M Betway training kit deal

Manchester United has signed a multi-year training kit sponsorship deal with Betway worth £20 million (roughly $27 million) per year, making it the most lucrative training-kit-only sponsorship in football history. The deal, which will see Betway’s branding on United’s training gear starting in the 2026/27 season, replaces the club’s previous partnership with blockchain platform Tezos. From blockchain to bookmakers Manchester United’s relationship with Tezos lasted approximately three years before ending in the summer of 2025. That deal was valued at £20-25 million per year and included NFT elements. The XTZ token, which was central to Tezos’s branding strategy, declined significantly in value alongside the broader crypto market downturn. United then spent the entire 2025/26 season without a training kit sponsor at all while it searched for the right partner. Betway filled that gap with a deal that matches the lower end of what Tezos was paying, but without the volatility risk that comes with tying sponsorship economics to a token price. New Premier League regulations will prohibit gambling companies from appearing on front-of-shirt sponsorships starting in the 2026/27 season. That ...