Largest Football (soccer) Sponsorship Deals

posted by kmn05 on 06-10-2010 13:59PM | Report Abuse

Manchester United and Nike - £302.9m over 13 years I think is the largest sponsorship deal between a club and company.

The biggest of all club-level football sponsorship deals was agreed in 2002 between Nike and Manchester United. Nike replaced Umbro as United’s kit provider, agreeing to pay United a staggering £302.9m. The mammoth deal involves control of United’s global licensing and retail operations shifting to the sportswear company, while the football club will share half of the profits, provided that they stay in European football and finish in the top half of the league. It is hard to see them failing to do that in the near future.

Forbes magazine says David Beckham still reigns supreme as soccer's top-earning player.

The 35-year-old midfielder earns $40 million annually, with much of that coming from sponsors such as Adidas, Giorgio Armani and Motorola. But Beckham is expected to lose major sponsorship money this year because he will miss the World Cup in South Africa after tearing his Achilles' tendon in March while on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy to AC Milan.

Portuguese midfielder Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the Forbes list, earning $30 million a year. Ronaldo's major sponsors include Nike, Coca-Cola and, like Beckham, Giorgio Armani.