In round 17 last year, the Essendon Football Club seemed poised to take a shot at finals glory, but that all came to a crashing halt with the club losing their last two games by a combined 197 points and falling from 5th place to a disappointing 11th.
Welcome back to B&T’s Spotlight on Sponsors series, where we unpack all the major sponsorship news from each NRL and AFL team in the lead-up to the new season.
After a rough 2023, the Bomber’s sole focus is redemption as they step into trials for the 2024 season. Luckily for Essendon, their sponsors remain steady and dedicated to continuing their partnerships with the team.
B&T has you covered on all the latest partner news from the Essendon camp.
Yakult
At the start of the 2022 season, Yakult announced a three-year extension of its already 17-year strong partnership with the Bombers, making the probiotic milk brand its longest-serving partner. In line with the new deal, the beverage brand continued as the training ball and interchange bench sponsor until the end of the 2024 season and is the official partner of the prestigious Crichton Medal.
Yakult also supports the Tackling Childhood Cancer match that sees Essendon dedicate one game a season to long-serving charity partner Challenge. This not-for-profit organisation supports children and families living with cancer or blood disorders.
“To work in partnership together for over 17 years is something both organisations should be incredibly proud of. In recent years, we’ve seen Yakult align with our charity partner Challenge to present our annual Tackling Childhood Cancer Game, which highlights the partnership going from strength to strength and for the betterment of others beyond our organisation,” said former Essendon CEO Xavier Campbell at the time.
TRADIE
Iconic Australian brand Tradie first signed on with Essendon in 2022. At the start of last year’s season, the brand penned a new deal that would extend the partnership for four years. The deal solidified the Tradie logo’s positioning on the teams’ playing and training shorts.
The partnership also included a brand new mural created in Napier St Essendon of Bombers superstar Sam Draper showing off his Tradie underwear and has seen the brand sponsor a number of the Essendon Podcast episodes.
Dutton Automotive
At the end of 2023, Dutton Automotive announced they would be signing on with Essendon as a co-major partner and the official automotive partner of the Bombers. The three-year deal sees the automotive brand’s logo appear on the front of the teams playing and training jerseys and will also feature extensively on club assets.
“We are proud to be partnering with the iconic Essendon Football Club as we take our next step forward as a business. Essendon and Dutton both celebrate a rich history and journey of growth,” said Dutton Automotive CEO Matt Hanson. “In 1911, when Essendon Football Club won its third VFL Premiership, A.O. Dutton opened his first garage on Burnley Street, Richmond. Driven by an obsessive focus on customer experience, today, Dutton Automotive operates from 24 dealerships throughout Australia”.
Major Partners
- Fujitsu Airstage
Apparel Partners
The Hangar Naming Rights Partner
Guernsey Partner
- Liberty
Coaches Partner
- Palo Alto Networks
Official Partners
- House of Marley
- Liberty
- HoMedics
- AIA Australia
- Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation
- McDonald’s
- Treasury Wine Estates
- Science In Sport
- Club Warehouse
- Cool Ridge
- Gatorade
- Pepsi
- Silvans
- Employment Hero
- TAC
- Premier Traditional Homes
Watch this space for a breakdown of the sponsorship from each AFL team in the lead-up to the 2024 season launch next month.
Did you miss our last article? Check it out now for all the sponsor news from the Geelong Cats.
