Confirming a statement made by Herbert Hainer, the company’s chief executive, to a German newspaper, Süddeutsche Zeitung, a spokesman for Adidas says that the Three Stripes will not engage in a bidding war with Nike to retain the sponsoring rights to the German national football team. Nike has reportedly offered an 8-year €400 million deal to the German Football Association (DFB), along with a €50 million signing bonus. The new contract would begin in 2011 – the year after Adidas’ sponsorship expires – and would reportedly be five times higher than the current amount the DFB is receiving from the Big a on an annual basis.
The DFB and Adidas had indicated last August that they had agreed in principle to continue to work together. Nike is probably interested in the German contract for many reasons, including the fact that Germany is a big country where its market share is very small. On the other hand, it’s not sure whether Nike’s move is simply intended to get Adidas to pay more to keep the rights. It may also raise the expectations of other major national football teams sponsored by Adidas such as France and Argentina, and by other major brands such as Puma or Umbro.
The DFB will likely make a decision sometime this year. It has admitted that the Swoosh’s offer is attractive, as it would allow it to fund additional non-profit soccer activities in Germany. Adidas’ relationship with German football dates back to 1954 when the late Adi Dassler’s screw-in cleats were donned by the national team en route to winning the World Cup.
Adidas’ current contract will include the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, where the brand will again act as official sponsor, although FIFA has decided to cut the number of sponsors from 15 to six. Four others have been confirmed: Coca-Cola, Emirates, Hyundai and Sony. The World Cup was the sports event that attracted the largest number of TV viewers this year – a total of 280 million, or 14 percent more than four years ago – followed at a big distance by the Super Bowl with 98 million viewers.
