Manchester United secure most lucrative kit deal in football, signing $A1.4 billion contract with Adidas

MANCHESTER United have secured the most lucrative kit deal in football, announcing Adidas had agreed to pay $A1.41 billion over 10 years.

FILE - This is a Saturday, March 8, 2014 file photo of Manchester United's Wayne Rooney as he shouts instructions to teammates during the English Premier League soccer match between West Bromwich Albion and Manchester United at The Hawthorns Stadium in West Bromwich, England. Manchester United on Monday July 14, 2014 secured the most lucrative kit deal in football, announcing that Adidas has agreed to pay $1.3 billion over 10 years to take over the sponsorship from Nike. The deal, worth 75 million pounds ($128 million) a year from 2015, was announced after Nike decided that trebling the cost of its existing 13-year equipment supply contract was not good value for the company. (AP Photo/Rui Vieira, File)

MANCHESTER United have secured the most lucrative kit deal in football, announcing that Adidas had agreed to pay $1.41 billion over 10 years to take over the sponsorship from Nike.

The deal, worth $138.5 million a year from 2015, was announced after Nike decided that trebling the cost of its existing 13-year equipment supply contract was not good value for the company.

The eagerness of Adidas to make the United kits is evidence of the durability of United’s brand value despite its worst-ever Premier League campaign.

And with Louis van Gaal’s imminent arrival at Old Trafford this week, before preparations for 2014-2015 ramp up, the Premier League club’s shares rose on the New York Stock Exchange. The club is back at $3.8 billion - seeing them back above Real Madrid and Barcelona.

FOOTBALL’S BIGGEST KIT SPONSORSHIPS

Manchester United - Adidas - $137million (from 2015-2016)

Arsenal - Puma - $55million

Real Madrid - Adidas - $44million

Liverpool - Warrior - $42million

Barcelona - Nike - $40million

Bayern Munich - Adidas - $40million

Manchester United - Nike - $40million (this season)

Still a massive football brand.

The jersey deal is a big boost for the club. Adidas currently pays around $50 million a season to Chelsea and Real Madrid, and United could make far more from the German sportswear firm than the headline figure of $1.37 billion, which is described as a “minimum guarantee.”

Nike has one more season as kit maker, recently unveiling jerseys featuring a gold Chevrolet logo for the start of the American automaker’s $604.8 million, seven-year jersey sponsorship deal with the team.

Adidas last held the United contract between 1980 and 1992 just before the club ended their 26-year wait for an English title in 1993, ushering in a period of dominance under Alex Ferguson. But United is now in a period of rebuilding again after going from winning a 20th English title before Ferguson retired in 2013 to a sudden slump with David Moyes in charge, finishing seventh in the league.

Moyes was fired before the end of the season, and Louis van Gaal now has the task of returning United to the Champions League in 2015, fresh from leading the Netherlands to a third-place finish at the World Cup last week.

Originally published as Manchester United secure most lucrative kit deal in football, signing $A1.4 billion contract with Adidas