Barcelona and Puma agree sponsorship deal worth €200 million, deal hinges on breaking ties with Nike

Barcelona and Nike have not seen eye to eye for a long time now. The Catalans’ stance is that the American entity’s sponsorship value does not match what the club generate in revenue, but Nike are unwilling to put up more money on the table.

Puma, thus, have become a serious option to replace the Orgen-based company as the team’s shirt manufacturer. The Germans are willing to put up the extra penny that Barcelona demand, in addition to expanding sales worldwide.

The only hurdle, however, is that the Blaugranas’ contract with Nike runs until 2028, making an early termination difficult.

The termination clause

As revealed by SPORT, Nike believe that they will lose close to €350 million if Barcelona terminate the contract with immediate effect. The Catalans would thus have to bear the aforementioned compensation, but they have no intention of doing so as it stands.

Puma will pay Barcelona a certain amount as a bonus should they terminate the deal with Nike before 2028. However, they are unwilling to pay any part of the compensation should Barcelona be forced to do so.

As it stands, Barcelona and Puma have reached an agreement in principle for a kit sponsorship. The deal includes €115 million in fixed amounts and an additional €85 million in bonuses per year, thus making the Catalanclub’s jersey the most valued in the world.

A key decision

Puma’s offer is superior to that of Nike, both in terms of the fixed and variable value. Moreover, they promise to expand the e-commerce market to a global level as opposed to Nike who only committed to the European level.

The pre-agreement, however, cannot be furthered until the team’s deal with Nike breaks. Barcelona thus have a critical card to play with both sporting giants in negotiations for different reasons.