Everton extend Chang deal - but is it value for money?

It is difficult to really judge the benefits of the deal given the limited numbers we have been provided with. The headline figure is in "excess of £16million", which is no doubt based on performance and European qualification.

They say the deal is the most lucrative in the club's history, which isn't exactly hard given we've hardly pushed the financial boundaries with sponsorship contracts in the past. I imagine it will be similar to the current £4million per year deal, perhaps with a slight increase, with bonuses on top.

Everton and Chang clearly have a healthy working relationship though given this is the fourth extension to their partnership and this current deal will make it 13 seasons together.

The deal was signed by CEO Robert Elstone with Graeme Sharp and Arouna Kone also present on a promotional tour in Bangkok. There are certainly benefits to spreading Everton's name in South East Asia, who as anyone who has been there will know, is in love with English Premier League. Those benefits are difficult to quantify though and so cannot be added to the bottom line.

The deal was met with the usual scepticism from fans, particularly because it was announced by Elstone, who is deeply unpopular with many supporters at present.

They see him as out of his depth and responsible for a number of bungled commercial deals, most notably the 10-year Kitbag deal which is now seen as a millstone around the club's neck.

They also question whether he is getting true value for money out of the club's brand and wonder why Everton's deals are less than other club's in the Premier League.

Football finance site Sporting intelligence produced this handy graphic at the start of the season showing all the deals in the Premier League.

There were three distinct groups, the elite sides like Manchester United and Chelsea, recently joined by Manchester City and Tottenham.

Then there were middle ranking sides like Sunderland and Aston Villa before a lower tier of newly promoted sides and clubs like Stoke and West Brom.

Everton found themselves bottom of the middle group, behind Newcastle, Villa, Fulham and Sunderland. This is what infuriates fans as our fanbase and standing is larger or the very least equivalent to all of those sides. There is very little in it though, with just £2million between our deal with Chang and Newcastle's £6million deal with Wonga.

Then the figures leap up to Samsung's £18million deal with Chelsea - figures we cannot get near unless we get into the Champions League.

So is this new deal worth it?

Again it is hard to tell without all the figures and I look forward to comparing the division's new deals at the start of next season. We also have to remember that the majority of us are not marketing experts and are not privvy to all the information - the Chang deal may well have been the best out there.

Given our recent track record though I can understand the supporters skepticism but we also have to look at this through advertisers eyes. They do not care for our proud history and heritage, they care about how much exposure their brand will get and the image of the club their logo is printed on. As we are not in Europe and not won a major trophy for 19 years, they are going to drive a hard bargain.

There is improvement to be made yes, but very much like our travails on the pitch, there is a glass ceiling we will struggle to break through without external investment.