When it comes to the branding wars between Nike and Adidas, the action in the boardroom likely rivals any athletic competition on the field.
Manchester United, owned by the family of American businessman Malcolm Glazer, inked an absurdly lucrative 10-year licensing deal with Adidas valued at $1.3 billion to provide jerseys to the global soccer brand, scheduled to start for the 2015-16 English Premier League season, the team announced on Monday, according to Reuters. The new deal was hatched amid reports that Nike would no longer sponsor the soccer giant, ending a highly profitable 13-year marketing run that will conclude following the coming season, when Adidas will reveal its new uniform.
The contract with Adidas is said to be valued at more than twice that of the Nike agreement, according to London’s Independent newspaper.
The news of a new partnership comes less than a week after Nike unveiled, with much fanfare, the latest edition of the Chevrolet-sponsored jersey, which players will wear in this upcoming season.
The soccer club released a statement on its website Monday that read: “Manchester United plc has reached a ten-year agreement with adidas for a global technical sponsorship and dual branded licensing deal for a minimum guarantee of £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.”
To reach the deal, Adidas had to ward off attempts from two other American sports apparel companies, Warrior and Under Armour, according to the Guardian. This is the second time around for Adidas as the team’s jersey supplier; it previously created the Red Devils’ kits from 1980-92.
Nike released a statement commenting on the end of their run sponsoring the club, saying, in essence, it simply couldn’t compete with the vast amount of dollars that Adidas threw at the team.
“Any partnership with a club or federation has to be mutually beneficial,” the statement read, “and the terms that were on offer for a renewed contract did not represent good value for Nike’s shareholders.”
The 20-time top-flight English soccer champions finished seventh in the Premier League last season, and the deal with Adidas is viewed as a coup in terms of ensuring the team remains on solid financial footing.
Adidas will offer a “training and playing kit to all of the club’s teams” and will also have the “exclusive right to distribute dual-branded merchandising products worldwide,” according to BBC News.
Manchester United reportedly announced a $559 million seven-year marketing deal with Chevrolet in 2012 that puts the U.S. auto maker’s emblem on the front of the team’s jerseys.