Starting in the 2015/16 season, the 10 year deal is
worth $1.3billion (£750m), at $130million (£75m) per year, smashing the
previous record deal set earlier this summer by competitor Puma with
Manchester United’s rivals Arsenal, which will see the London team take $51m
per year for the next five years.
This new deal currently blows out of the water the
richest club deal, also negotiated by Adidas with Real Madrid for $41m per
year, and is streets ahead of Nike’s deal with the NFL. Nike pays an average of
$18m for this sponsorship deal.
The announcement comes hot on the heels of
Manchester United’s seven-year, $559m shirt sponsorship deal with Chevrolet,
and a triumphant World Cup for Adidas, which saw two of its marquee national
teams, Germany and Argentina, contest the final, with the world’s highest profile
player, Lionel Messi, sporting Adidas gear, and the world’s most exciting
emerging talent, James Rodriguez from Columbia.
The deal revives Adidas’s association with
Manchester United, which last saw the club supplied by the German brand in
1991-92. Many football fans will fondly remember the Adidas days of, Gary
Pallister, Brian McClair, Steve Bruce, Mark Hughes, Gordon Strachan, Captain
Marvel Bryan Robson et al.
Adidas makes aggressive gains in the war of the
sports brands.
After many years of intensified competition from
American giant Nike in the football arena, European behemoth Adidas has come
striking back with this bold deal.
Adidas chief executive Herbert Hainer said the deal
would help the firm "to further strengthen our position in key markets
around the world".
He added: "We expect total sales to reach
£1.5bn during the duration of our partnership."
Notably, as the incumbent kit supplier, Nike was
given first refusal on an extension with Manchester United and had the right to
match any offer. They chose not to move forward.
This is a clear statement of intent by Adidas that
it is taking the fight against its competitors to a new level. Last night the
BBC reported that in trading on the German stock exchange on Monday, the firm's
shares closed up by 2.73%.
Adidas also supplies Bayern Munich, Chelsea, AC
Milan and Flamengo. From the 2015-16 season, they will also provide kit for
Juventus.
The Manchester United and Premier League brands
also come out winners
The deal also acts as a massive boost for
Manchester United, following the turmoil of its worst ever season in the
English Premier League.
It is a renewed vote of confidence in the club’s
brand as the world’s leading internationally supported football team, and will
serve to reinforce the club’s pre-eminent position.
Coupled with this, the fact that this huge
agreement has been signed with one of the EPL’s leading teams will shore up the
image and reputation of the league as the best and the most competitive in the
world. In spite of England’s disappointing early exit from this summer’s World
Cup finals, the deal ensures that English football remains centre stage.
With Nike supplying the losers in the World Cup,
and England’s ailing national team, what will their next move be?
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