A look at who is Infinite Athlete and what is the company as it becomes the new sponsor of Chelsea
Ahead of Liverpool, the company is close to a £50 million Chelsea sponsorship pact.
What is the Infinite Athlete company new Chelsea sponsor, sponsorship cost and owner details
🚨The Premier League will govern the value of Chelsea's proposed sponsorship deal with Infinite Athlete, amid questions from outside the club over investment links 😒❌
This is the reason behind the delays today which has been totally unprecedented and unfair! 😔😡
Everybody… pic.twitter.com/REbtvC4NqZ
— SG ⭐️ ⭐️ (@sgcfc23) August 9, 2023
This weekend marks the start of the Premier League season, and Chelsea is yet to decide on a new shirt sponsor after its agreement with Three expired earlier this summer. Despite not being able to confirm a new arrangement, the Blues have already released their home jersey.
Who is Infinite Athlete?
Before the former received harsh criticism from fans and the latter was rejected by the Premier League, the west London club was rumoured to be close to agreements with Stake and Paramount. The CAA actively participated in the search for a new sponsor for the club.
However, given that they appear to be close once more, Infinite Athlete now appears to be Chelsea’s likely suitor. The Premier League squad already has a connection to Infinite Athlete, which was developed by Tempus Ex Machina, a business with which Chelsea previously agreed to a seven-year contract in 2023.
Who are Infinite Athlete?
In order to “power innovative technology enhancements for the club and our global fanbase,” Chelsea and Tempus Ex Machina signed a seven-year cooperation agreement in April. However, Infinite Athlete’s reach appeared to extend further. The company purchased Jeff Crandall’s Biocore earlier in April with the goal of making Biocore’s unique technology available to all partners and enabling the addition to “ingest new data streams in its player and health and safety work.”
The company not only has a close relationship with the NFL, where Crandall chairs the engineering group that offers guidance on injury prevention, but it also has a mandate within the Pacific-12 that covers “injury spotting and other athlete health uses.” They explain how they want to improve the sporting environment for all parties involved:
“Our mission is to build an operating system for sports that powers infinite innovation and makes sports better for the fan, the game, and the athlete.
“Born out of the idea that the world can do better in all aspects of sports and live events – the fan, the game, and the athlete experience – Infinite Athlete’s goal is to create a single technological foundation across all major sports, upon which innovative sports technology and media products can be built.
“This foundation will combine and connect sports data from all sources, which will create infinite possibilities. Infinite Athlete was established in 2023 after the merger of Tempus Ex Machina and Biocore, LLC.”
What have they done with Chelsea already?
In April, Tempus Ex and Chelsea announced their agreement. The two companies intended to employ Tempus Ex’s technology in a variety of applications, including the club’s 5th Stand app, digital and mobile fan engagement, in-stadium fan upgrades, and for sponsors. Additionally, the business is attempting to incorporate coaching, training, player health and safety, and match preparation in addition to the playing side.
The partnership included “Match View X” technology in the club’s app during Chelsea’s first preseason game against Wrexham so that users could “customise graphical elements, view game highlights, change camera angles, or add a possession tracker to their in-app live stream.”
What is it worth?
Although there haven’t been many specifics about the length of the agreement, early estimates suggest that the club might stand to gain £50 million from it.