Word on the wire is that Nike have paid through the nose to secure themselves a kit supply deal with Chelsea, starting as of next season.
As per ESPN sports business reporter Darren Rovell, Nike have chucked $70million (around £60million) at Chelsea to land the deal, thus bringing an end to the Blues’ existing deal with Adidas some six years early.
BREAKING: Nike announces deal with Chelsea starting next season, ends adidas deal 6 years early, rumored to be in $70M a year range pic.twitter.com/z8Xs3pBP98
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) October 13, 2016
Woof. That’s the second biggest kit contract in Premier League history, behind Manchester United’s mammoth £75million yearly deal with Adidas.
For the record, Chelsea signed their 10-year, £30million-per-annum kit deal with Adidas in 2013, though rumblings of a possible early termination began last year.
We can only imagine what the compensatory pay-off to Adidas is going to be – probably somewhere up around the ‘sodding huge’ mark if you’ll excuse the economic jargon.