Do clubs recoup transfer fees from shirt sales?
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This is a very common myth that has been going around for decades. To make it clear, it is not true. Kit deals are licensing deals and not sponsorship deals. The licensing deals help the kit manufacturers use the club’s brand to sell apparel. Clubs receive an annual fee – Chelsea received £60m from Nike, Manchester United received £75m from Adidas – and then around 15% of the revenue the kit manufacturer generates from shirt sales.
One might think that signing a star player would lead to selling of many new shirts. There is no doubt that signing a new player would lead to an upturn in the number of shirts sold, but more often, the case is that people who were already planning to buy a shirt, would opt for a jersey with the new player’s name on the back rather than the old one.
The kit deal is probably the most lucrative deal a club can sign. The manufacturers don’t pay the club just to have their logo on the shirt, rather, they make an investment that would yield them good returns. Example – Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer has projected that Adidas will earn £1.5 billion in the 10-year deal with Manchester United.
