CHLOE KELLY AND HANNAH HAMPTON COULD BECOME THE UK’S TOP-EARNING SPORTSWOMEN

Chloe Kelly and Hannah Hampton could become Britain’s top-earning sportswomen as major brands seek to associate themselves with the indomitable Lionesses.

Winning Euro 2025 will elevate England’s star players to the same level as Emma Raducanu, the UK’s highest-earning sportswoman, experts said.

The values that the team represents – resilience, speaking out against injustice, friendship and fun – gives them additional value as influencers on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram, where players can earn £10,000 for a post.

A double major tournament winner, Kelly is already worth an estimated £2.3m from endorsement deals with Land Rover, Calvin Klein and Nike, a relationship sealed when the Arsenal player whipped her top off to reveal a Nike sports bra while celebrating scoring the winning goal during the 2022 Euros. She also has one million Instagram followers.

Goalkeeper Hampton, called up after Mary Earps’s shock retirement before the 2025 tournament, will be fielding a raft of requests after her penalty-saving exploits.

The story of how she overcame childhood surgery to correct serious eye problems, and was told she would never become a footballer, is certain to attract the attention of filmmakers and book publishers.

The 24-year-old Chelsea keeper has already granted a pre-tournament photo session and interview to fashion magazine Elle.

With club salaries still way behind the men’s game – Chelsea’s Sam Kerr was the Women’s Super League top-paid player on £417,000 a year, while some players take home less than £100,000 – off-the-pitch earnings are particularly important for the Lionesses.

Captain Leah Williamson has modelled for Calvin Klein, is a brand ambassador for Gucci and enjoys a lucrative deal with Nike.

Midfielder Ella Toone has launched her own creative agency to help fellow England players manage social media and grow their personal brands.

Requests to take part in Strictly Come Dancing and I’m A Celebrity will be fended off, for now, with the Women’s Super League set to get under way again in September.

Media analyst Alex DeGroote said tennis star Emma Raducanu, who earned $14m (£10.5m) in 2024, mostly from endorsements, should be the “benchmark” for Kelly and Hampton.

He said: “Kelly will not find it easy to improve her sports salary but endorsements are a different story. I would imagine her agents will want to nail down her brand attributes and then find it easy to sell her to brand advertisers in areas like fashion, cosmetics and financial services.”

Professor Ellis Cashmore, author of Celebrity Culture, said the Lionesses had formed a valuable bond with Gen Z audiences. “Fans want relatable celebrity athletes. Chloe, Hannah and co. could easily be standing next to you at the Lidl checkout and you feel you could just strike up a conversation and they’d be totally natural. This makes them perfect for advertisers and large-scale corporations.

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“This tournament has been an inflection moment for women’s football. The amount sponsors have invested in the sport and the individual players confirms that the sport has sped off on a new trajectory. McDonalds, Amazon, Samsung, all geared to the Gen Z market, were big advertisers during ITV games.”

The Lionesses will each receive £87,000 in bonuses and fees as their share of the Uefa prize money.

Hampton and Kelly were immediately installed as joint favourites to win this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year award.

Hampton and Kelly were also tipped to be awarded an MBE, while Williamson could have her OBE upgraded to a CBE.

2025-07-29T05:30:36Z