Spanish soccer giants Barcelona have struck a new, lucrative, multi-year deal with current kit supplier NIKE, less than nine months are claiming they were terminating the previous tie-up between the two parties.
The new deal, which media reports have stated is worth over €1.7 billion ($1.8 billion) in total, begins immediately and thus means that the previous agreement between the pair (set to run through 2027-28) has been reworked to be more lucrative to the soccer heavyweights. This agreement gives Nike technical partner status across all professional and amateur Barcelona teams, and extends the US brand’s position as a main club partner.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The club, in announcing the deal on November 9 (Saturday), said the new collaboration – which could last for up to 14 years – represents a “unique model that strengthens the brand’s association and fuels the global retail and licensing business growth.”
Cash-strapped Barcelona has had to pull multiple ‘financial levers’ over recent years in order to continue to buy players, and have also had to agree a financial plan with Goldman Sachs worth around $1.6 billion in order to afford the extensive renovations to their iconic Camp Nou stadium that are now taking place. Earlier this year, the club’s financial vice president stepped down, and massive debts are still having to be managed.
This new tie-up also comes despite Barcelona having sought to have the previous tie-up with Nike (unveiled eight years ago) terminated, earlier this year – they claimed Nike had breached the terms of the contract, likely in an attempt to secure better terms in any new deal.
However, Barcelona lost the court case, meaning the club was left with the options of either letting the deal to 2028 run its course or renegotiating a new tie-up – they have now chosen that second option.
How well do you really know your competitors?
Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.
Thank you!
Your download email will arrive shortly
Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample
We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form
By GlobalDataThe last deal-signing between the pair came in 2016, for a contract starting in 2018 and running for a decade. That contract was worth €100 million per annum, meaning this new deal – which could according to reports see the club earn an average of $129.5 million from the deal – is reportedly of significantly more value to the club.
While the 2016 agreement had a world record fee at the time, it has since been surpassed twice by German rival adidas’ contracts with Spanish rivals Real Madrid and English giants Manchester United.
On his own podcast earlier this year, Barcelona’s president Joan Laporta said: “We are open to everything, but we cannot have a contract much lower than what the market pays. It is our responsibility as executive directors of the club to secure the best contract.”
Nike has been the exclusive kit partner of Barcelona since 1998, being partnered with the club through a period of major domestic and European success across multiple renewals.
Barcelona consistently ranks among the top sports teams globally in terms of annual jersey sales and as such the rights to produce kits for the club is an extremely lucrative prospect.
It has been reported that Laporta, at the point he was looking to terminate the previous Nike deal, believed Barcelona could command better terms than Real Madrid’s reported €120 million per year agreement with Adidas.
Barcelona have now commented, however, that Nike “has a key strategic role in the club’s retail operations and together with Barça Licensing & Merchandising [BLM] will join forces in the development of specific plans related to product creation, supply chain, and global distribution.”
The club’s men’s team currently sit top of the 20-team LaLiga table after 13 games, six points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid. They are also on track to qualify automatically from the group stages of the lucrative pan-European UEFA Champions League.
Other significant club partners are Spotify (which holds Camp Nou naming rights and also front-of-shirt rights for the men’s team), as well as Ambilight TV.
In 2023-24, the Catalan club secured record sponsorship income of €210 million, and turnover by the BLM merchandising subsidiary of close to €110 million. They still made a loss of €91 million in total, however.
