EPL clubs at their summer meeting decided that the league "can do without a title sponsor when the Barclays contract expires at the end of next season," according to Charles Sale of the London DAILY MAIL. This follows the EPL "turning down" a $69M per year offer (all figures U.S.) from Diageo because the league wanted $92M for the naming-rights successor to Barclays, which has held the sponsorship since '04. The new approach "will see more secondary partnerships but allow the competition to be known as 'The Premier League', a major statement in this sponsorship-driven age." The move "reflects the organisation's desire to mirror major American sports leagues like the NBA and NFL in presenting a 'clean' brand." The EPL "did not have a title sponsor" in its inaugural season of '92-93 before signing a four-year, $18.4M deal with beer company Carling. Barclays paid $87.4M for a three-year sponsorship deal in '04 and "subsequent extensions saw the value rise" to the $184M paid for the existing three-year sponsorship in '12. However the bank in March indicated that it "would not seek to renew the deal when it expires" at the end of next season (London DAILY MAIL, 6/5).
