Liverpool set for Adidas kit switch as '£60m' figure likely to go far higher

Liverpool are set to partner with German sportswear giant Adidas on a multi-year kit deal from next season. The Reds’ current deal with Nike runs until the end of the 2024-25 campaign.

The Reds had been in negotiations with a number of manufacturers during the early part of the year, including Nike and Puma but as first reported by SportBusiness back in April, they are set to make the move back to Adidas, with whom they last partnered back in 2012.

Reports emerged from Germany, where Liverpool face RB Leipzig in the Champions League tonight, on Tuesday evening, with the figure being suggested for the new deal as £60m per year.

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The Nike deal has been a lucrative one for the Reds. The £30m per year guaranteed sum also included an additional 20% cut of revenue on the sale of club/Nike merchandise. It was a move that more than doubled the guaranteed amount - and it was that ability to better serve the global market that was the motivating force behind Liverpool going to the High Court in 2019 to extricate themselves from a deal with former kit partners New Balance.

The language used in reports around the potential value has been ‘more than’ £60m per year. It is likely to be significantly more than that sum in reality.

The Reds know the value of kit partnerships in the Premier League because other big deals have been struck in recent times. Arsenal get £75m per year from Adidas, while Manchester United inked a 10-year deal with Adidas for a reported £90m per year, albeit one with caveats attached that could see that sum reduced based upon on-pitch success, or lack of.

For Liverpool, while the £60m sum has been widely reported, it is hard to envisage a club of their global stature not being at least able to match the kind of deals that have already been on offer in the Premier League between Adidas and their main rivals.

Any deal is likely to be heavily incentivised beyond the guaranteed sum, and in excess of what the club felt they could deliver with Nike, which was already above the £70m per year mark.

Reds owners Fenway Sports Group have long leaned into incentivisation, whether that be with player contracts or commercial deals. They know the value of the brand, the size of the fan base, and the global reach. Partnering with a brand that has a strong direct-to-consumer platform will be impactful financially beyond any headline figure.

The partnership with Nike saw Liverpool able to lean into the relationship they have with FSG part-owner, basketball icon LeBron James, who is Nike’s most high-profile athlete. A number of lines of merchandise have come about on the back of that link, while the Reds have also been able to lean into the sister brand of Nike, Converse, for other lines.

The new deal will be a record for the Reds, no question, and the club, which delivered £272m in commercial revenue for the most recent 2022/23 financial year, are on track to break the £300m mark before any new kit deal. This will see Liverpool push forward to a greater extent, with the kit partnership the most financially valuable annually to the football club.

The Reds have declined to comment on the reports, and the club remains in a contract with Nike until the end of this season, with more merchandise collaborations to come in that time. An official announcement on who the club’s kit partner from 2025 won’t be communicated until the early part of next year.