São Paulo’s betting deal covered more than half its payroll

Betting operators' main sponsorship payments to the 14 Série A clubs they sponsored were large enough to cover more than three months of those clubs' player salaries each year in Brazil.

The finding comes from a national outlet cross-check of sponsorship contract values against sponsorships and payroll ranking

Combined, the contracts were worth around BR1.01bn a year, or BR84.5m a month, against combined monthly payrolls of BR299.3m. Payroll data comes with caveats, since clubs and football companies don't report squad wage spending in a standardized way.

That range may be close when measured against total budgets, which include TV rights, ticket sales and player transfers, but payroll is a fixed monthly expense that can't be delayed, which is where a loss of sponsorship would be felt most.

São Paulo is the most exposed. Its BR113m annual Superbet deal brought in BR9.4m a month, equal to 52.3% of a payroll estimate at BR18m, so the operator effectively paid more than six months of squad salaries a year. 

Flamengo follows: Betano's BR268.5m deal, the largest in Brazilian football history, covered 44.8% of the country's biggest payroll, BR50m a month, or 5.4 months. Counting only the fixed portion of the contract, reported at BR220m, coverage falls to 36.7%, or 4.4 months. 

At Corinthians, Esportes da Sorte's BR150m a year covered 41.7% of a BR30m payroll, or five months.

Botafogo (30.6%), Palmeiras (27.8%) and Vasco (26%) complete the group of clubs where betting money covered more than three months of wages. Palmeiras has recently confirmed it will leave its main shirt sponsorship vacant instead of replacing Sportingbet.