It’s been an epic week of sports and sports sponsorship news. Overnight, Paul Gallen clinched a controversial split decision victory over long time rival Sonny Bill Williams (SBW). The fight took place at Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena and an audience who purchased the fight on Stan’s Pay-Per-View were treated to a Gallen victory thanks to two judges scoring the fight 77-74 and 76-75, whilst Williams only got the nod from one judge 77-74.
Earlier in the week Janik Sinner defeated Carlos Alcaraz three sets to one to claim his maiden Wimbledon victory, and in the women’s final Iga Swiatek also claimed her first title with a ruthless 6-0 6-0 victory over Amanda Anisimova, which only took 57 minutes thanks to Rolex the official timekeeper of Wimbledon since 1978.
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Welcome back to B&T’s Spotlight on Sponsors series, where we break down all the major sponsorship news from inside the sporting world.
On the sidelines, the action is heating up as well.
This week’s spotlight on sponsors features Alltech doubling down as the male and female team song sponsor for the Cronulla Sharks, Manchester City and Puma have extended their ongoing partnership, The Premier League has signed on Adobe to a multi-year sponsorship deal, and Fairmont San Francisco has been announced as the Official Hotel Sponsor of the Laver Cup 2025.
Cronulla Sharks x Alltech Payroll
Alltech’s brand will be front and centre whenever the Sharks men or women celebrate a victory this season after increasing its involvement as the official NRLW team song sponsor.
The payroll outsourcing business became the NRL team song sponsor midway through last year, with the Alltech logo emblazoned on the esky that cops a thumping during ‘Up Up Cronulla’–and Alltech has doubled down on its investment now they’ve signed on for the NRLW.
Alltech was in the thick of the party in the GIO Stadium sheds as the Sharks opened their NRLW account for 2025 with a 56-6 win over Canberra on Saturday. It was the comeback the Sharks needed after falling to the Eels in the opening round of the season 18-16.
Having been affiliated with the Sharks for more than a decade, Alltech is excited to formally support Cronulla’s women’s outfit.
“It seemed a no-brainer for Alltech to partner with the NRLW team,” said Stephen Scullion, Alltech director and owner.
“We are big on supporting women’s sport, both at the grassroots level and the elite level. We look forward to seeing our brand proudly on display as the Sharks celebrate many hard-earned wins throughout 2025.”
“We’re grateful for Alltech’s support and can’t wait to enjoy many more shared successes,” added Kylie Lucas, Sharks general manager of partnerships and hospitality.
“The women’s game is going from strength to strength, with our NRLW team primed to give Alltech plenty of exposure in addition to our NRL side.”
Manchester City x PUMA
PUMA and Premier League football club Manchester City have signed a long-term extension of their partnership, which has been ongoing since the 2019/20.
The contract extension will enable PUMA and Manchester City to continue creating products that appeal to the club’s ever-growing global fan community over the coming seasons.
“PUMA’s partnership with Manchester City has been a great success both on and off the pitch,” said Arthur Hoeld, PUMA chief executive officer. “Trophies, a perfect stage for our performance products and commercial success, were exceptional.”
PUMA has celebrated many successes with the club during the partnership, most notably the Treble Winning 2022/23 season, four consecutive Premier League titles, and several domestic cup competition wins for the men’s first team and an FA Cup and League Cup victory for Manchester City Women.
During the partnership, Manchester City’s Elite Development Squad (EDS) has also secured four Premier League 2 titles and the Under-18s have won two FA Youth Cups and were named Premier League National Champions on three occasions.
Commercially, PUMA and Manchester City have set new club sales global records over the years and co-created iconic, best-selling kits such as the 2022/23 Colin Bell inspired home shirt worn during the treble-winning season.
“We joined forces with PUMA with the ambition to challenge ourselves and go beyond expectations. We have achieved this and more over the last six seasons,” said Ferran Soriano, chief executive officer of City Football Group. “PUMA have seamlessly integrated into our organisation, and we’ve enjoyed many historic moments together, engaging fans globally. Today’s renewal and extension solidifies our relationship and projects it to an even brighter future.”
In 2022, PUMA and Manchester City launched a kit in the metaverse for the first time with partner Roblox and more recently, invited Man City fans to design a future kit by using AI technology.
Manchester City has also supported PUMA with sustainability initiatives such as its innovative RE:FIBRE recycling project. Since 2024, all Manchester City replica shirts are manufactured using RE:FIBRE materials that were recycled from factory off-cuts, faulty goods, and pre-loved clothing as the primary source of material.
PUMA are also a partner of City Football Group clubs Melbourne City FC, Girona, Lommel, Mumbai City FC, Montevideo, Palermo, Bolivia and most recently Bahia and ESTAC.
Premier League x Adobe
Adobe and the Premier League have announced a multi-year partnership to bring new AI-powered personalised digital experiences to fans around the world and provide new opportunities for fans to express their creativity.
Adobe’s partnership with the Premier League will bring the League’s 1.8 billion fans worldwide closer to their favourite clubs, players, and moments through personalised experiences based on their unique interests. As part of the Premier League’s digital transformation, Adobe Express—the quick and easy content creation app powering fan engagement—and Firefly generative AI, will give fans new ways to create and share Premier League content and enhance their digital and Fantasy Premier League experience.
Adobe Express will be integrated into the Premier League’s new website and app for the 2025/26 Fantasy Premier League season. Designed to be commercially safe, Firefly is only trained on a dataset of licensed content with permission, such as Adobe Stock, and public domain content where copyright has expired. Firefly features, powering Adobe Express, enables fans to easily design unique badges and kits for their favourite Fantasy Premier League teams and share their passion with the world.
Fantasy Premier League managers and Premier League fans will be able to showcase their passion beyond the game to create and share social content with exclusive Premier League templates in Adobe Express. Adobe Express takes fan-created content to the next level; easy-to-use AI-powered features, such as Generate Video and Clip Maker, let fans create images and videos from a simple prompt, including long-form videos which they can automatically cut down into short, attention-grabbing clips made for social. Fans can also edit their own images with AI, using Insert or Remove Object to add new elements to photos or to remove clutter.
With Adobe Experience Platform, AI Agents and applications including Adobe Real-Time Customer Data Platform, Adobe Journey Optimizer, Adobe Customer Journey Analytics and Adobe GenStudio for Performance Marketing, the Premier League will bring together a fan’s preferences from across its entire digital ecosystem. This will enable a richer, more connected understanding of every fan’s needs, allowing the Premier League to create and optimise the experience across every interaction.
“Adobe AI technology is empowering passionate fans to shape how they experience and share the unrivalled drama of matchday, through real-time news updates and fan-created content that stands out on social media, thanks to the creative magic of Adobe Express – the quick and easy content creation app,” said Rachel Thornton, CMO, Enterprise at Adobe.
“Bringing the power of Adobe to the most watched football league in the world, fans have new AI-powered ways to engage and experience the moments that matter, and the creative capabilities to express their love of the game.”
“The Premier League is followed by millions of fans around the world—all of whom have very different reasons for doing so,” said Will Brass, chief commercial officer at the Premier League.
“Adobe is a global leader in digital experiences and creativity, and this exciting partnership provides us with the tools to better understand and deliver what our fans need and want digitally, ensuring we can provide the best of the Premier League directly to them. Our partnership aims to enrich the fan experience and providing them with new creative ways to express their passion for the league.”
The Laver Cup x Fairmont Hotels & Resorts
The Laver Cup has announced that Fairmont Hotels & Resorts will sponsor this year’s Laver Cup, which will be held at Chase Center, home of the seven-time NBA Champion Golden State Warriors, and the Golden State Valkyries, from September 19-21, 2025.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts has deep roots in this year’s host city. The first Fairmont hotel atop Nob Hill—the Fairmont San Francisco—was opened in 1907 by the Fair sisters and has been a preferred destination for world leaders and celebrities since its foundation. In September, Laver Cup fans can take advantage of a special offer to stay at the Fairmont San Francisco.
“The Fairmont Hotels & Resorts brand is synonymous with excellence, and their dedication to exceptional service and unparalleled hospitality aligns with Laver Cup’s mission to deliver truly unique and memorable moments for our guests,” said Laver Cup CEO Steve Zacks.
“Fairmont is honoured to be the official hotel of the Laver Cup in San Francisco—a city where our storied legacy and timeless hospitality began. This partnership underscores our commitment to hosting world-class events that ‘Make Special Happen’ for our guests and the communities we proudly serve,” added Omer Acar, CEO of Fairmont Hotels & Resorts.
Named in honor of Australian tennis legend Rod Laver, the Laver Cup pits six of the best men’s players from Europe, captained by Yannick Noah, against six of their counterparts from the rest of the World, captained by Andre Agassi over three days of intense competition.
World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz, World No. 3 Alexander Zverev and World No. 8 Holger Rune are the first players named to represent Team Europe, whilst World No. 4 Taylor Fritz, World No. 9 Ben Shelton and World No. 16 Tommy Paul will be joined by Brazilian teenager Joao Fonseca on Team World, with further players still to be announced.
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