Editor’s note: This story is revised from the print edition.
For the first time in seven years, the ATP World Tour is adding a luxury car brand to its roster of sponsors, though it’s a brand that has not been sold in the United States for more than 20 years.
The men’s circuit plans to announce this week it has signed Peugeot to an up to five-year, roughly $50 million deal to sponsor the ATP starting in January. The contract is guaranteed for three years, with an option for the car brand to extend for two more years.
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Rumors in 2014 had Peugeot returning to the U.S. market,
Photo by: AP IMAGES
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The deal is a rare one in that it sees a major sports property take on a large sponsor that does not sell in the United States.
“I am a bit surprised that the ATP, which is obviously an upscale property, would associate with a brand that is not as well-known,” said Bob Basche, the longtime sports marketer who is the founder of Connect Sports & Entertainment. “It is obviously a play by Peugeot to be more in the mainstream of the luxury
About the deal
■ FOR PEUGEOT: Promotion at about one-third of the tour’s 62 events initially, including at the Miami Open and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
■ FOR ATP: New official car sponsor through a deal valued at roughly $50 million over up to five years.
car category.”
Peugeot has been out of the U.S. market since 1991, though last year rumors surfaced in the auto press that it planned a return. The company did not respond to a question about whether the ATP sponsorship could serve as a platform to re-enter the U.S. market.
Because so many of the ATP’s 62 events boast local car deals, Peugeot can promote initially only at around one-third of the tour’s events. Those include only two of the 11 ATP events in the United States, a source said, though those two are among the largest tennis events in America: the Miami Open and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.
The owner of the Miami Open, WME-IMG, brought the deal to the ATP, a source said. An ATP official said the talks between the tour and Peugeot developed directly, and WME-IMG engaged in the later stages of negotiations. WME-IMG is not an agency for the ATP, but it does represent world No. 1-ranked player Novak Djokovic, and Djokovic has a Peugeot endorsement.
“It will [be] more than 20 events in the first year, and the number of tournaments will be added to through the course of the contract,” an ATP spokesman wrote in an email.
The ATP at one time was closely associated with Mercedes-Benz, which for 13 years was the circuit’s lead sponsor until bowing out after the 2008 season.
Peugeot will be the new official car of the ATP and will supply 500 cars to ATP events for players, officials and VIPs.
“Peugeot has a rich history in our sport, and this long-term partnership with the ATP World Tour will cement their position as the pre-eminent car brand in tennis,” said ATP President Chris Kermode, in a statement.
Peugeot already sponsors the French Open and a handful of lesser tournaments, including the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris and the Rio Open. In addition to Djokovic, other Peugeot tennis endorsers include Juan Martin del Potro, Belinda Bencic and David Ferrer.
Outside of tennis, Peugeot sponsors rally car races and drivers.
Peugeot will not be the top ATP sponsor. Corona is currently the lead sponsor, though next year Emirates will shift into that position. Peugeot will be a “platinum partner” for the tour, a tier at which Ricoh, FedEx and Infosys are also ATP sponsors.
The main competition the French brand will find in tennis remains Mercedes-Benz, which sponsors the U.S. Open and Roger Federer. Mercedes, along with its German compatriots BMW and Audi, have long been the top brands in the global luxury car category. Other brands in the category include Porsche, Jaguar and Aston Martin.
