Next season will see Manchester United feature a new shirt sponsor, for the first time since 2013/14. Tech giants TeamViewer will replace Chevrolet and become the club’s sixth different shirt sponsor of the 2000s, joining Sharp, Vodafone, AON and AIG.
According to Press Association, the deal is similar to FC Barcelona’s 55 million euro (£47million) per season contract with internet marketing firm Rakuten, which would make it worth around £235 million in total.
#ManchesterUnited have agreed a £235m per deal (or £47m/$65m a year) with technology company TeamViewer to become the club's new shirt sponsor from next season 21/22. TeamViewer will replace Chevy. Chevrolet’s 7-year agreement with #MUFC began in 14/15 and is worth $79.8m a year pic.twitter.com/i0Dgb3qWI2
— ?ukasz B?czek (@Lu_Class_) March 19, 2021
(United vs Leicester FA Cup Preview material here and here)
The graph above is quite useful and helpful, in concisely recapping where United are and how far they’ve come in regards to shirt sponsorship. This is believed to be the richest shirt only sponsor deal in Premier League history.
“We ran a process and that’s very much the norm for us,” United Managing Director Richard Arnold said to PA.
“That process ran through the pandemic and I think that’s testament to the resilience of the staff that work in the team.
“That’s very much, again, another brand attribute for the club in terms of resilience – that keeping going in the most difficult of circumstances.
“That’s been done alongside the work that we’ve done from a corporate social responsibility point of view and supporting staff through the pandemic so I think that’s the first point.”
“I think the second point is the process was incredibly successful. We had more than 10 participants in the final phase.
“We were able to choose between partners, which is a very fortunate situation to be in, in the context (of the pandemic), but I think that that’s a reflection, again, of the enduring appeal of Manchester United – the greatest club in the world.”
By some estimates, and these are obviously “ballpark figures,” United have several hundred million supporters walking the Earth. As 2020 drew to a close, their official social media accounts boasted follower numbers of: 24 million on Twitter, 38 million on Instagram and 73 million on Facebook.
Whatever the topic, on or off the pitch, if it involves Manchester United, it is exponentially amplified.
“They’re a big deal and they know they are,” said Media Relations Professional Sinhue Mendoza, who worked directly with the club in the International Champions Club.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.