Nike in talks to take Liverpool kit deal from New Balance

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Apr 15, 2019

Football kit deals may not always seem like the most newsworthy stories on the fashion front. But with more and more consumers living their lives in sports clothing, more sports clubs launching into lifestyle fashion, and links to the top football clubs being a major boost for sports brands, such deals really are gold dust.

So it’s significant that Liverpool, one of England’s top clubs and currently leading the Premier League rankings, is in advanced talks with Nike for a new long-term kit deal. And its value is expected to be even bigger than the deal Manchester United has with Adidas that has a total multi-year value of £750 million.

The club’s current supplier is New Balance in a relatively low-value (£45 million a year) deal that will expire at the end of the 2019/20 season. 

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ESPN FC reported that New Balance has the right to extend the deal by matching any rival offer. But with the resources at Nike’s disposal allowing it to offer mega money, New Balance may prefer to walk away, despite the huge publicity potential of its Liverpool links. A Nike deal would allow Liverpool to generate the kind of apparel earnings that big-hitter Manchester United does.

The report also said that the football club has had talks with both Adidas and Puma, both of which would be keen to grab a piece of Liverpool’s success. But Nike is the front-runner and Liverpool would want to wrap up a deal before its New Balance contract enters its final year.

Nike has very deep pockets and already has a number of giant deals with major football clubs. In fact, its 10-year £100 million a year deal with Barcelona is the world’s biggest, just ahead of the Real Madrid/Adidas agreement that generates £98 million a year.