Chelsea and Adidas have mutually agreed to end their kit sponsorship deal 6 years early. The German sportswear brand have been the Blues' kit supplier since 2006 and signed a mammoth £300 million deal over a period of 10 years four seasons ago, but will end their partnership at the end of next season, with Chelsea sporting Adidas’ kit in the 2016/17 Premier League season.
In a statement released on their website, Chelsea announced that they were ending their partnership with Adidas early, ending a relationship that had begun in 2006. The Blues have reportedly bought out the remainder of the £30 million per year contract with six years to go, and will compensate Adidas accordingly, presumably having a replacement kit sponsor lined up already.
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Here is the statement released by Chelsea, in full:
Chelsea Football Club can confirm we have mutually agreed with adidas to end our longstanding partnership at the end of the 2016/17 season.
Having begun our relationship in 2006, we would like to thank adidas for their fantastic support and cooperation over the past 10 years. In that time the club has lifted the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, two Premier League titles, four FA Cups and two League Cups, and we look forward to a successful final year of partnership.
Chelsea’s £300 million kit deal was one of the most valuable
When the Blues announced their kit deal with Adidas 4 years ago, it was the most valuable in English football, with the other Premier League clubs not earning as much. However, the likes of Manchester United and Arsenal have gone on to announce lucrative deals, yet Chelsea’s deal with Adidas was still amongst the top most valuable kit sponsorship deals in football.
With the sponsorship deal not coming to an end, the 2016/17 home kit will be the last one designed by Adidas that Chelsea will wear. The Blues had launched the kit in a Facebook video, with stars Eden Hazard and Ruben Loftus-Cheek donning the blue jersey.
The home kit, featuring Chelsea’s classic blue and a white collar garnered plenty of criticism and was the subject of hilarity online upon launch, with many likening the impressions of Chelsea’s lion symbol all over the jersey to nightwear.
However, with Chelsea out of the Champions League next season, the Blues have surprisingly decided to buy out the adidas deal, which will increase the German brand's profits for this fiscal year.
