Have Manchester United inadvertently helped Chelsea comply with FFP?

We've talked about FFP quite a bit here, and the general findings when we look at the numbers are that Chelsea should be in no danger of failing to comply with the rule during the initial monitoring periods. Amortized transfer fees and the ability to ignore fees and contracts from before the FFP rule was passed have left Chelsea in a position where they can spend freely without fearing consequences in the initial phases of the program. Going forward, however, Chelsea will not have quite as many loopholes to jump through if they want to abide by UEFA's new standards.

At some point, Chelsea will actually have to show a true break-even (or be very close). The new domestic TV deal certainly increases their ability to do so, as did winning the Champions League. Ironically enough, we may have also gotten a major boost from a domestic rival who certainly wouldn't have intended to do so. Hit the jump we'll take a look at just what I'm talking about.

Manchester United recently announced that they'll be changing shirt sponsors for the 2014/15 season. It's a bit odd that they'd make this announcement so early, as there are still 2 full seasons to run on their old sponsorship deal. I've seen speculation that the Glazers are simply cementing United's financial standing ahead of potentially selling the club, but regardless of the reasoning, the deal is now public knowledge. In the first season that Chevy is featured on the United kit, they'll be paying almost £45 million for the privilege. That dwarfs the supposedly "shady" deal that Manchester City announced only a year ago, and has easily altered the entire landscape for shirt sponsorship in the Premier League going forward.

Chelsea currently make around £13 million per season on their deal with Samsung, and their deal is set to expire at the end of this season. Samsung seem to be interested in renewing, and have seemingly indicated that Chelsea's recent Champions League victory would likely be a factor in the value of the sponsorship. CL victory aside though, United have just done Chelsea a huge favor at the negotiating table by announcing their new deal so prematurely. The market value for shirt deals at top clubs in the Premier League has now jumped significantly, and Chelsea are the next in line to renew.

Whether or not Chelsea will get the same as United did is yet to be determined, but it would seem almost certain that they'll now be getting more than they would have if the deal hadn't been announced 2 years early. We'll almost certainly now be getting far more than City got for their deal with Ethiad, as United have just made that deal seem remarkably undervalued for a top club. I suppose the Glazers should be on my Christmas card list now, as their financial issues seem to have been behind the early deal and announcement, and will probably just make it even less likely that Chelsea run afoul of FFP even with their continued spending. Thanks guys...sorry you missed out on Hazard and Moura*. If we make a whole bunch of extra money from our next shirt deal now, we'll make sure to offer it to your targets so you can save a little more.

*No I'm not