Chelsea has confirmed its "new partnership with sportswear company Nike" until '32, according to Callum Davis of the London TELEGRAPH. The long-term deal is "worth a reported" £60M ($74M)-a-year, eclipsing the £30M ($37M)-a-year contract the club had with adidas. In a press statement released on the company's site, Nike described the deal as "the largest commercial deal in the club's history." Chelsea’s Nike contract is twice what Arsenal is paid by Puma and "is more than three times" what Man City earns from Nike. Chelsea Dir Marina Granovskaia, who is understood to have negotiated the deal, said, "This is an incredibly exciting and important deal for the club. Like Chelsea, Nike is known around the world for its excellence and innovation and we look forward to working together in what is sure to be a successful partnership." From the start of the '17-18 season, Nike "will produce strips for the first team, Academy and Ladies teams, as well as a full range of clothing for Chelsea’s millions of supporters around the world" (TELEGRAPH, 10/13). In London, Ed Aarons wrote the agreement with Nike "dwarfs Chelsea’s previous deal" with adidas. But that "still pales in comparison" with Real Madrid -- which earlier this year agreed to a 10-year deal with adidas worth around £106M ($130M) every season -- while ManU's contract with adidas, which was signed in July '14, is worth a minimum £750M over 10 years. Chelsea's deal is "believed to have been negotiated directly with Granovskaia," who is club Owner Roman Abramovich's closest adviser (GUARDIAN, 10/13).
TWO EPL TEAMS: ESPN.com's Darren Rovell reported after losing ManU, "Chelsea will be only Nike's second Premier League team," joining Man City. Nike's "other big football team" deals include Barcelona and Paris St. Germain. Nike also sponsors the U.S., Brazilian, French and England national sides "as well as Neymar and Cristiano Ronaldo" (ESPN.com, 10/13). In London, Martyn Ziegler reported the income will "further swell Chelsea's coffers which, like all Premier League clubs, are set to be increased further still by the new television rights deal." Chelsea’s revenue for the '14-15 season was £314.3M, with £99M coming from domestic Premier League money -- a figure that could rise to £140M ($172M) this season (LONDON TIMES, 10/13).
