Gunners Ditch Nike After Agreeing Record £25m Deal

Arsenal are set to sign a new record £25m-a-year shirt sponsorship deal with Adidas, according to the Telegraph.

The Gunners are set to ditch their long-term association with Nike when the current contract expires in 2013/14 in favour of a switch to Adidas.

Arsenal will be boosted financially when a number of key commercial deals expire over the next two years, with the new shirt sponsorship deal set to make the club an extra £12m per year.

Nike’s current deal is worth £12m-a-year but the agreement with Adidas is believed to be worth almost double that figure at £25m.

Arsenal are a lucrative brand to be associated with, selling 800,000 shirts each year – Nike’s third highest seller behind Manchester United and Barcelona – so it’s easy to see why Adidas are keen to link up with the North Londoners.

Adidas and Liverpool cut ties last season after failing to agree a new deal and the sportswear giant are keen to link-up with a club of similar stature and are set to renew their association with Arsenal that ended in the mid-1990’s.

The partnership with the Gunners is part of a wider strategic decision for Adidas to try and ‘own London’, with the company also attempting to add Fulham to their growing London-based portfolio of clients.

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