The truth about modern football is that what goes on behind the scenes is pretty much just as important as what happens on the pitch. You can have all the talent in the world in a squad, but those players won’t hang around for long if the club is being run like a circus.
Just look at Lionel Messi. The greatest player in the history of the sport ultimately left Barcelona in 2021 because the Spanish giants didn’t have enough of a wage budget left to offer him a new contract. In the years since, the Catalan outfit have pulled many levers, but their finances remain in a worrying state.
This may explain why they were recently teetering on the edge of leaving Nike – who have been their kit sponsors since 1998 – but a new deal was reached to reunite the two parties amid the club’s success under Hansi Flick. But they are not the only club to leave no stone unturned in their attempts to regain their status as a corporate giant. Along that line of thinking, we’ve written about the 10 biggest kit sponsorship deals in football, as per Mail Online and other sources.
10
Tottenham Hotspur, Nike
Value per year: £30m
Forget about their state-of-the-art stomping ground for a second – and focus on their sponsorship revenue. Tottenham Hotspur, despite swallowing up a whopping £30m-per-year thanks to their kit deal with Nike, are still lagging some way behind their rivals.
After putting pen to paper in 2018, the north London-based outfit are currently six years into a 15-year deal with Nike having exclusive rights to design and produce their kits until, at least, 2033. On-pitch proceedings may have improved somewhat under Ange Postecoglou – but they still have a far way to go to be on level pegging with the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United.
9
Bayern Munich, Adidas
Value per year: £42.5m
It’s hard to imagine a Bayern Munich shirt without an Adidas logo on it, where it be an Essential or Treefoil type look. After all, their relationship dates back to 1974 when the Bavarian club wore a sponsor on their chest for the first time in their history. Since those days of growth with Franz Beckenbauer and his merry men, many triumphs have followed.
Indeed, Bayern have won the Bundesliga every season since 2012/13 – bar 2023/24 – and with such levels of consistency, coupled with their storied history, it’s no surprise that Adidas have signed a lengthy contract with them. Starting in 2015, the deal will run for 15 years, working out at £42.5m-per-year.
8
Juventus, Adidas
Value per year: £46m
From the 2011/12 campaign all the way through to the 2019/20 season, Juventus won the Serie A without any interruption from their fellow top flight sides. This likely would have influenced Adidas when they agreed an eight-year contract with the Italian giants in 2019. Unfortunately for both parties, the highest Juve have finished since then is fourth.
They even finished as low as seventh in 2022/23 after picking up a 10-point ban as punishment for ‘false accounting’ in relation to past transfer dealings. They consequently didn’t qualify for the Champions League or Europa League and were banned from the Europa Conference League due to a violation of UEFA’s financial regulations. They’re now back at Europe’s top table, however, which will be welcome news for their kit supplier.
7
Chelsea, Nike
Value per year: £60m
It’s hard to talk about owner Todd Boehly without thinking about long-term deals. The American has, after all, been the brains behind handing out contracts to Cole Palmer, Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Jackson that run until, at least, 2031.
However, Chelsea’s current terms with Nike date back to the Roman Abramovich era, with the agreement being signed in 2016. That 15-year deal will see the relationship run until at least 2032 with the Blues raking in £60m per year– the second-highest fee of all London clubs.
It’s unlikely that either party would have expected so much turbulence in the nine years since it was agreed. Indeed, in that time, the ownership has changed, and they’ve had a plethora of different managers – at least they’ve also won the Champions League in that time period.
6
Liverpool, Adidas
Value per year: £60m
When the Reds signed a five-year deal worth £30m-per-season with Nike in 2020, they were one of the most exciting clubs in the world. After all, they had won the Champions League in 2018/19 and then followed that up by winning the Premier League 12 months later. Manager Jurgen Klopp was the mastermind behind all this but his decision to leave the club at the end of the 2023/24 season led many to believe their finances could have taken a hit.
Arne Slot has turned the club into a title-winning side once more and, as such, piqued the interest of Adidas. Per the Guardian, the Reds traded Nike for Adidas in 2025 as they signed a five-year deal believed to be worth £60m a year. This deal includes the potential for a percentage of the sales of LFC/Adidas merchandise, which means the value of the deal could rise even further.
5
Arsenal, Adidas
Value per year: £75m
Arsenal’s contract with Adidas is one of the most recent. It only began in 2024, which explains why, in terms of payment per annum, they are one of the best-paid teams – ranking fourth on that front, with a £75m fixed payment every year.
However, their contract is only six years, so the total sum only sees them ranked seventh out of the top ten. The club look to be on an upward trajectory under Mikel Arteta, now challenging for Premier League titles again and back in the Champions League.
With that in mind, it makes sense that Adidas have increased their payment – which was previously reported to be in the region of £300m over five years – to £450.78m over six years. Puma was their prior kit sponsor, and it was Nike before that, showing that Arsenal aren’t afraid to mix it up.
4
Manchester United, Adidas
Value per year: £90m
What’s been remarkable about Manchester United in their post-Sir Alex Ferguson years, has been their ability to perform fantastically commercially despite their abject displays on the pitch. As per Forbes, although they have not won the Premier League since 2012/13, they are the second most valuable team in the world – behind only Real Madrid.
Being such a huge global brand understandably attract plenty of sponsorship offers. Couple this with the fact that they are playing in the most-watched football division, and arguably the best, in the world, and it makes sense that the Red Devils are near the top of this list.
What’s more, their 10-year Adidas contract is one of the newest on the list – with it not set to kick in until 2025 – so it makes sense that they have lucrative terms right now. The way things are going though, by the time the £90.6m-per-season deal ends in 2035, that might not look like quite so much when compared to other teams who would have renewed more recently.
3
Manchester City, Puma
Value per year: £100m
Puma’s biggest clients, after missing out on Barcelona, are Manchester City. The English side are flying the flag well for the brand, though, having won the treble in 2022/23 thanks to the genius of Pep Guardiola, Erling Haaland, Kevin De Bruyne and co.
In 2019, a deal was agreed which will see City net £65m-per-year for an entire decade. They extended their partnership in 2025 as a record-breaking £1billion kit deal was reached, worth a whopping £100m-per-annum until 2035.
2
Barcelona, Nike
Value per year: £105m
As mentioned before, Barcelona are currently with Nike but had previously been flirting with the idea of a switch to Puma. In their past deal, which ran until 2024, they were making a generous £100m per year, but striking fresh terms have raised their stocks exponentially.
Club president Joan Laporta even said he was keen to end the partnership, having described the previous agreement as ‘less than ideal’. However, Nike have made a number of compromises to keep the relationship intact, as reported by Mundo Deportivo. It’s reported that the new deal will be the highest paid sponsorship contract in football, worth £1.4billion ($1.82 billion) over 14 years – £105m ($136m) a year. The contract also includes a £131m signing bonus for La Blaugrana, which will be paid over the duration of the lengthy deal.
1
Real Madrid, Adidas
Value per year: £110m
If you’re judging sponsorship revenue from how much they pay a team every 12 months, Real Madrid storm the list as Adidas give them a whopping £110m per season to be worn on the front of that famous white shirt. And that makes sense given the magnitude of Los Blancos as a global conglomerate.
The German company and the Spanish giants have been working together since 1998 – incidentally, this is for as long as football rivals Barca have worked with sportswear rivals Nike. In this time, Madrid have made themselves the kings of Europe time and time again. They completed “La Decima” in the 2013-2014 season, becoming the first team to win 10 Champions League trophies.
Most Lucrative Kit Deals in Football
Rank
Club
Sponsor
Contract Length
Value Per Season
1.
Real Madrid
Adidas
2019-2028
£110m
2.
Barcelona
Nike
2025-2039
£105m (£131m signing bonus)
3.
Manchester City
Puma
2025-2035
£100m
4.
Manchester United
Adidas
2023-2035
£90m
5.
Arsenal
Adidas
2022-2030
£75m
6.
Liverpool
Adidas
2025-2030
£60m
7.
Chelsea
Nike
2016-2031
£60m
8.
Juventus
Adidas
2019-2027
£46m
9.
Bayern Munich
Adidas
2015-2030
£42.5m
10.
Tottenham Hotspur
Nike
