The Deal
European soccer's governing body UEFA recently announced that it had begun exclusive negotiations with the Relevent Sports agency over commercial rights, between 2027 and 2033, to the iconic and lucrative array of UEFA men’s club competitions.
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This came as a serious blow to Team Marketing, the agency that has held these rights – up until the last few years, globally – since the top-tier UEFA Champions League was created in 1992, a moment that marked the start of the modern era of UEFA’s pan-continental competitions.
The exclusive negotiations with New York City-based Relevent – the marketing agency backed by Stephen Ross, owner of the Miami Dolphins NFL franchise – will be concluded in the coming weeks.
The package covers sponsorship, broadcast, and licensing rights for the Champions League, the secondary Europa League, and third-tier Conference League competitions.
Why it matters
Team – one of the original parties involved in the creation of the Champions League as a concept – had been the worldwide rights holder until 2022 when US-specific rights were sold to Relevent. This broke Team's hegemony over the properties for the first time, although the Swiss firm still retained rights in all other countries.
Indeed, up until it established the T/Squared agency, it had only dealt with UEFA as a significant client, with a minimal rights portfolio aside from that.
In 2022, when Relevent swooped in the US, the latter agency came out on top against Team after offering $250 million for that specific package, it was reported at the time.
After securing the rights for the 2024-27 cycle, Relevent then concluded a broadcast deal for the Champions League in the US with Paramount, worth $1.5 billion over six seasons (2024-25 through 2029-30).
Relevent’s expertise in handling the US market – which is becoming more of a key area for soccer rights – is likely to be a significant reason why the switch has been made.
As Conrad Wiacek, head of analysis at GlobalData Sport, has explained: “The decision by UEFA to change its commercial rights holder agency from Team to Relevent Sports is an indication that Europe’s governing body sees far greater opportunity to grow its commercial revenue outside of Europe than within its home market.
“While Team has grown and developed the Champions League within Europe and turned it into a commercial behemoth, the reality is that there is an opportunity for UEFA in markets such as North America, where media rights and sponsorship can be further developed.
"By taking on an agency with roots in that market, the direction of travel for UEFA is clear. There is an opportunity, with the soccer world focused on the US for the next 18 months ahead of the 2026 World Cup, to capitalize on the interest that tournament will bring. Following the last FIFA World Cup there, Major League Soccer was born and soccer’s popularity has continued to grow. Following the next World Cup, UEFA will be hoping its showpiece tournaments will be firmly embedded in the US market.”
The agency and Germany's top-tier Bundesliga unveiled a significant long-term strategic partnership in September 2024, based on the league expanding its commercial activities in the Americas.
A similar deal between Relevent and Spain's LaLiga, meanwhile, has been in place since 2018, through which the LaLiga North America vehicle operates.
The detail
UEFA first put these rights to tender in mid-June, before shortlisting Relevent as one of the best-equipped bidders later in the year. The process has been overseen by UC3, the joint vehicle of UEFA and the European Club Association (ECA) representative body.
The request for proposals issued in mid-2024 gave bidders the chance to submit proposals for either a three-year deal (2027 to 2030) or a six-year tie-up through 2032-33. Relevent has taken the latter option.
Aside from the trio of competitions listed above, other UEFA properties covered by the deal include the annual Super Cup showpiece match, the UEFA Youth League youth category competition, and the Futsal Champions League. The cycle begins with the 2027-28 UEFA campaign, with the start of that season now around two-and-a-half years away.
Team, meanwhile, said in a statement, following the announcement by UEFA: "Naturally, we are disappointed, but we remain incredibly proud of the work we have done alongside UEFA over the past 35 years. Together, we have built a world-class commercial programme that has delivered over €50 billion in revenue for European club football, growing the value of the UMCCs (UEFA men's club competitions) with each successive cycle.
“While this marks the end of an era, it is not the end of our ambition. Our deep knowledge of European club football, our track record of success, and our unwavering commitment to excellence remain. We are excited about the future and confident in Team’s expertise.”
Broadcast and commercial rights covering UEFA’s various international tournaments and competitions are handled by the CAA Eleven agency.
