Kline joined as Spurs’ chief commercial officer in early 2021 after stints with NFL sides Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, as well as working at AEG and within sports talent and property sales.
Earlier this month, Matt Law confirmed that the American had resigned from the North London side, been placed on gardening leave, and is now set to join London rivals Chelsea.
Football. London’s Alasdair Gold subsequently revealed that Kline had been brought to Spurs primarily to find a naming rights partner for the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
However, the journalist explained that the club decided to delay that process due to the unexpected benefits that accrued for the Tottenham brand as a result of keeping the generic name while hosting big events at the venue, such as NFL matches and music concerts.
Todd Kline will not be missed at Tottenham.
Maguire is a little bewildered by Chelsea’s decision to task Kline with finding a naming rights deal for Stamford Bridge since he failed to achieve the same at Spurs.
Maguire told Football Insider: “If Todd Kline is tasked with a naming rights deal at Chelsea, then good luck to him. There wasn’t a long queue of people at Spurs wishing him a fond farewell, given his somewhat abrasive personality.
“So it seems like a strange decision by Chelsea because he had more than one job, but the most important and significant job he had—he failed to deliver.
“Stamford Bridge is Stamford Bridge, and it will always be called that by diehard Chelsea fans. Therefore, sticking a new name on the front of it won’t be very beneficial financially.
“They might get a few words in the media about a Nike Stamford Bridge or an Apple Stamford Bridge, but it won’t be common language used by fans. We’ve seen at other clubs that it only tends to work when sponsors are associated from day one.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Todd Boehly would have likely had a relationship with Kline, given the latter’s work in the NFL and the American corporate sphere. It seems like Boehly is digging Chelsea into a deeper and deeper hole with each of his decisions, which is certainly delightful to watch as a Spurs fan.
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