Sources said that Leicester City and Puma "are now in talks about a new contract" that would reflect Leicester’s "sudden and unexpected status" as England’s best football team, according to Tariq Panja of BLOOMBERG. The sources said that the terms of the existing arrangement "are private, but it is worth a fraction of what the league’s traditional powers earn from their sponsors," and there are several years left on the deal. This season, "in lieu of a bonus payment, Puma will pay for additional marketing for the club," including an open-top bus tour next week and the team’s preseason tour to the U.S. The sportswear manufacturer "was as surprised as the rest of the world by Leicester’s rise." It made about 25,000 shirts to sell to fans, "an inventory that has been sold out for months." Next season, it will produce as many as 90,000 shirts. Until this year, Puma’s relationship with Leicester "was managed at arm’s length by a company based in Manchester that is responsible for arrangements with lower-tier teams in the Puma stable." Puma "is struggling to put a value on a new deal, according to one of the people." Leicester’s TV audiences are up more than 23% across metered markets globally with 29% growth in the U.K., according to Repucom (BLOOMBERG, 5/12).
