Arsenal Secures New Kit Deal with Adidas

jatinhota (72)in #sports • 6 years ago

Adidas, German sportswear firm replaces Puma from next summer. Arsenal hasn't worn the Adidas strip since 1994. The Gunners have signed a significant kit deal with Adidas beginning from the 2019/20 season, and this deal is worth £60m per year.

This contract with Adidas ends Arsenal's five-year deal with Puma which is worth £30m a season, the current season with the latter rumored to take charge of supplying the Manchester City's new kit from next summer in a £50m/year deal.

Arsenal last wore the Adidas strip between 1986 and 1994 and during which time they won the English title two times. One of those famous title victories came against rivals Liverpool at Anfield in the yellow Adidas kits. This last deal in 1993/94 season came just two years before the longest-running manager in Arsenal's history, Arsene Wenger was appointed to take charge. A contract with Nike then followed up until 2014/15 after which the current agreement with Puma took over.

What is the Agreement worth?

With this new deal set to take effect from July 1, 2019, over five years, Arsenal will become third in the most lucrative football kit deals only behind Barcelona's £140m year contract with Nike and Manchester United's deal with Adidas which is worth £75m a year. This deal will generate double of what they have been able to earn from current kit supplier Puma since 2014.

The new major deal with Adidas begins at the same time as the deal with Emirates; the club's shirt sponsors worth £200m for five years and these deals will mean a further increase in the club's spending power from next summer. It also gives the Gunners more liberty to increase their revenue options as it allows them to negotiate a separate sleeve sponsor deal. Other recent deals such the agreement with Visit Rwanda as the new club sleeve sponsor worth around 30m and the partnership with Tidal, the music streaming service owned by a Gunners fan, and rapper Jay-Z will have a massive commercial boost for Arsenal along with this imminent Adidas kit deal.

Reactions to this agreement

Adidas already have plans to use a new contemporary look as designers have already started making samples and conceptual designs with the likes of the 1991 ‘bruised banana kit.'

This decision by the club to ally with Adidas has been highly welcomed by the club's fans and former players. Some fans in excitement have made designs of how they would love the club's to look in the stripes, producing some remarkable concepts and others have expressed their curiosity in this anticipation on social media. It is expected that a record will be set on orders that will be placed for the new kits.

One of the former players and club legend, Ian Wright who scored many goals dressing Arsenal's Adidas kit posted on his social media expressing his " pleasure in having Adidas as the new sponsor for the club's kits" after apparently not being impressed with what Puma has come up with so far.