Manchester United and Adidas Strike Historic ‘Deal’
English soccer club, Manchester United, has just signed a ten year agreement with Adidas to be their new sponsor, making it the most expensive uniform deal in the history of sports. Yes, all sports.
According to Forbes:
“Adidas will pay $1.3 billion over 10 years to United, or $130 million a year beginning with the 2015-16 season. The previous high for a soccer team was the $41 million a season for kit rights paid by Adidas to Real Madrid.’’
Manchester United announced on their site this morning:
“Manchester United has reached a ten year agreement with adidas for a global technical sponsorship and dual branded licensing deal for a minimum guarantee of GBP 750 million, subject to certain adjustments, beginning with the 2015/2016 campaign. For the 2014/2015 season, Nike will continue in its role of technical sponsor and trademark licensee.’’
For American sports, the richest uniform deal is the $18 million a year average that Nike pays to the NFL, according to Forbes.
Arsenal, a rival English soccer club, also recently struck a new sponsor, but for a mere 30 million pounds, with Puma.
Nike is paying Manchester United 23.5 million pounds per year, which is much less than half of the new 75 million pounds per year Adidas will begin to pay, according to the BBC.
Adidas Group CEO Herbert Hainer said:
“We are excited to team up with Manchester United, one of the most successful and most loved football clubs globally. Our new partnership with Manchester United clearly underlines our leadership in football and will help us to further strengthen our position in key markets around the world. At the same time, this collaboration marks a milestone for us when it comes to merchandising potential. We expect total sales to reach 1.5 billion GBP during the duration of our partnership.’’
Manchester United is known for players like England’s Wayne Rooney, Netherlands’ Robin van Persie and Portugal’s Nani.
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