Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
German sporting-goods company Adidas AG extended its outfitting deal with the professional soccer team Bayern Munich FC for an additional 10 years, the company said Tuesday.
An Adidas spokeswoman didn’t want to comment on the deal’s value Tuesday night, but it is pegged to be around €900 million ($988.2 million).
Bayern Munich, which like Adidas is based in the German region of Bavaria, was recently crowned the 2014-2015 champions of the Bundesliga, the top flight of German soccer. The team’s current deal—for a reported €25 million a season—expires in 2020, but its players are now locked in to wear Adidas jerseys through 2030, according to the company. Adidas has joined with with Bayern Munich for more than 50 years.
“We will focus even more closely in future on partnerships with selected top clubs and associations in international football and with young emerging players,” an Adidas spokesman said.
The deal comes as Adidas works to turn around its slumping U.S. business, a major market for the company, while simultaneously showing it is a legitimate player in sportswear products other than those for soccer. The Herzogenaurach, Germany-based company reported mixed results in fiscal year 2014, with record sales of soccer jerseys spurred by the World Cup, while simultaneously issuing several profit warnings because of a decline in its golf business, currency headwinds and its sliding U.S. market share. It will report its first quarter earnings May 5.
Editors Note: A staggering amount of money, one that will make Bayern Munich even stronger in what is all but a one horse race. Saddening times for the rest of the Bundesliga – especially as their games can’t go to penalties every week
