Antonio Conte’s transfer kitty this summer just got a lot bigger, as Chelsea have agreed to a new kit sponsorship deal with Nike, that is reported to be worth £60m per year. That would make it the second biggest deal in the Premier League.
Chelsea announced earlier this month that they were ending their deal with Adidas six years early. That deal was worth £30m per season, be doubled by their American sportswear rivals, despite the fact Chelsea won’t be competing in Europe next season.
The Blues has reportedly grown increasingly annoyed by the way Adidas had been concentrating on Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Juventus.
With Nike, Chelsea felt the love that they wanted, plus the deal will increase Chelsea’s leeway in regards to Financial Fair Play too.
UEFA’s monetary model is calculated over a three-year period with clubs currently allowed to spend around £23m more than they earn for the 2015-16, 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Chelsea’s failure to qualify for the Champions League will cost upwards of £40m, a figure that is won’t impact them as move as before due to the new Nike deal as well as the imminent extra revenue that will be sustained from the Premier League’s bumper TV deal.
Chelsea’s new deal with Nike will be significantly more per year than the latter’s with Manchester City (£12m) and Arsenal’s agreement with Puma (£30m).
However, it is still below Manchester United’s staggering 10-year £75m-per-season contract with adidas, which came into effect this past season.
TOP PREMIER LEAGUE KIT DEALS
- 1) Manchester United – adidas (£75m-a-year)
- 2) *Chelsea – Nike (£60m-a-year)
- 3) Arsenal – Puma (£30m-a-year)
- 4) Chelsea – adidas (£30m-a-year)
- 5) Liverpool – New Balance (£25m-a-year)
- 6) Manchester City – Nike (£12m-a-year)
- *Chelsea’s Nike deal will come into effect from the start of the 2017-18 season.