In a season of renewal at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, Everton are poised to set a new high watermark in the commercial department, bolstering the budget available to David Moyes and his team.
The Friedkin Group have completely recalibrated Everton’s finances since taking over from Farhad Moshiri, restructuring the club’s cost base (debt interest, wages, transfer expenses) and its revenue base (sponsorship, retail and matchday income).
The biggest factor, of course, has been the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium, which was the stage for a Premier League classic last night as Everton came achingly close to taking three points from Manchester City before Jeremy Doku’s 97th-minute leveller.
Hill Dickinson, the law firm, has pledged tens of millions of pounds over the next decade to have its name associated with nights like last night. But the naming rights deal itself is just one star in a galaxy of new commercial opportunities that the stadium has created.
Who was your Man of the Match as Everton settle for a point? 🤝
For that, Farhad Moshiri, the club’s erstwhile owner, deserves at least a degree of credit.
The British-Iranian investor had the vision and cojones to enact the move away from Goodison Park. Yes, many, many features of his ownership went badly awry. And true, it will take time for the new stadium to feel like Everton’s true spiritual home, while ticket price increases deserve real scrutiny. But viewed through a cold, commercial lens, the move to Bramley Moore Dock was desperately needed.
And now, as Everton approach the end of their first full season at the Hill Dickinson, the true value of the stadium beyond simply the money coming through the turnstiles is becoming clearer.
After CMC Markets deal, Everton could soon exceed £76m commercial record
Ahead of 2025-26, Everton’s commercial department knew the campaign would be their last with Stake given the Premier League’s imminent ban on front-of-shirt gambling partners.
It has not been a partnership without controversy. The online Curacao-headquartered cryptocurrency casino gave up its license to operate in the UK last year following a regulatory review of its controversial marketing practices.
They did, however, pay reasonably well. The deal is worth a reported £10m annually, making it one of the most valuable front-of-shirt arrangements outside the so-called Big Six.
Last week, it emerged that Everton are set to sign a new front-of-shirt deal with CMC Markets worth £30m in total. The length of the deal and, by extension, the value on a per-season basis is not yet confirmed, but experts have told Everton News it is likely a £15m-a-year arrangement.
The £5m uplift from the financial services company, alongside the Hill Dickinson naming rights deal, fees for staging non-football events and a raft of ‘Founder Partners’ for the stadium, means Everton are closing in on setting a new club-record for commercial income.
Currently, the record is the £76m they banked back in 2019-20, when the Moshiri regime benefitted from a one-off £30m payment from Alisher Usmanov in a first-refusal deal to sponsor the new stadium. In 2024-25, commercial income accounted for £47m of Everton’s turnover of £197m.
In conversations with commercial industry insiders, Everton News has been repeatedly told that The Friedkin Group want to use the break with Stake as a chance to reposition themselves as a brand.
According to University of Liverpool football finance academic Kieran Maguire, that means not always taking the biggest cheque on offer, as he says the Moshiri regime was liable to do.
“Everton are ahead of the curve,” Maguire said in exclusive conversation with Everton News.
“There are an awful lot of clubs with empty shirts which look like they are going be in competition for sponsors ahead of next season because of the gambling ban.
Everton poised to agree £30m shirt sponsorship with CMC Markets
Are you happy with that figure? Or should we be aiming higher?
“This is an opportunity for Everton to distance themselves from Stake. That deal had a few people scratching their heads. In the Moshiri years, the club took the biggest cheque, but Everton are a bigger brand now following the move to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
“The Hill Dickinson Stadium naming rights deal itself adds an element of gravitas and credibility. Everton can use that in talks with sponsors. The deal with CMC Markets is at a fair price and also helps re-establish themselves as a blue-chip partner among sponsors.
“That can only help when it comes to arranging deals with other partners.”
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