Ibrox insider makes £3m claim as Rangers strike 'massive deal' with Scandinavian giants
Yesterday at 12:45 PM
Rangers have announced a new kit deal with long-term partners Kindred in what is being described as a 'massive deal' for the club.
The Gers have had a front of shirt partnership with Swedish gaming giant Kindred since the club's days in the Scottish Championship.
The new contract means the partnership holds the record for being the 'longest running of its kind' in British football.
The mutually beneficial relationship – which sees the Unibet and 32Red brands worn as the title sponsors of the Rangers jersey – is now in its tenth year.
What's more, this latest partnership extension is an '80% increase' in value on the previous deal at Ibrox.
Rangers 'delighted' to sign Kindred extension
The new Rangers and Kindred partnership will see the Unibet brand adorn the club's first-team shirts, whilst 32Red will be printed on the club's training and warm up kits.
The deal means Kindred will also continue to fund the Rangers Charity Foundation's TeamTalk initiative, which supports men's mental health.
Kindred's responsible gambling message 'Zero% Mission' will also be included on the jerseys as part of the agreement, making the group the only gambling operator in the UK to promote safer gambling as part of its front-of-shirt sponsorship,
Rangers chief commercial officer Karim Virani hailed the deal via the official Rangers website and claims everyone at Ibrox is 'delighted' to be able to get it over the line.
Virani also added that he hoped the partnership would help drive 'new initiatives that will benefit both our supporters and the people of Glasgow'.
Similarly Sam Mead, the Kindred group's general manager for the UK, has hailed the partnership and pointed to the charitable work done as part of the relationship.
"We recognise that we are in the privileged position to support clubs and their communities," Mead said. "(It's) a responsibility we take very seriously."
Rangers commercial department lands another win
There has been a largely positive reaction to Rangers signing the new deal with Kindred amongst supporters.
As commercial operations begin to level out in Glasgow after years of tumultuous retail and boardroom warfare, the club has begun posting record-breaking comercial revenues.
As first discussed by leading Rangers fan media Four Lads Had a Dream, the deal will see an automatic 80% increase in revenue from the previous deal, which was signed in 2021.
The Glasgow Times believe that with bonuses attached, this figure could reach a 93% increase in revenue.
Four Lads Had a Dream then went into greater detail surrounding the deal on a blog post explaining that the previous Kindred arrangement was worth around £1.5m per season to Rangers.
That means this new deal is worth around £2.7m per annum, with that figure potentially set to rise to around £3m if targets are reached.
Four Lads also went on to praise the new Elior deal, which will see the group return to Ibrox as the Gers' catering partners after signing a contract worth somewhere in the region of £2m.
Between the end of player contracts, transfer exits and loan players returning to their clubs, Rangers have also extensively cut the club's wage bill this summer.
Journalist Joshua Barrie reports that with the new players coming into the side, Rangers have cut the wage bill by between £8m and £10m per annum.
The Kindred contract, the Elior deal and the sizeable reduction in wage expenditure can all safely be viewed as big wins by Rangers amid the chaos in the background of the club.
