Manchester United
Premier League club Manchester United’s
$75M annual kit sponsorship deal with Snapdragon “is not contingent on United qualifying for the Champions League, and they will not be penalised if they spend consecutive seasons outside” the UCL, according to Adam Crafton of THE ATHLETIC. Crafton noted ManU CEO of Alliances & Partnerships Victoria Timpson’s team “managed to avoid any punitive clauses” if ManU doesn't qualify for the UCL -- unlike the club's kit deal with Adidas, which “involves a reduction if the club spend consecutive seasons outside of that competition.” Qualcomm CMO Don McGuire mentioned that Snapdragon “has an option to extend for two further years” beyond the initial three-year, $225M agreement and “will have the option to place a charity’s name on the front of United’s jerseys for one game per season to promote good causes.” Crafton reported Snapdragon believed ManU, for all its “flaws in recent times, remained a hugely appealing club to sponsor.” The firm, which also sponsors the Mercedes F1 team, “enlisted the support” of CAA Sports to help analyze "across leagues and teams in multiple sports.” McGuire said, “We could have done a deal with the Premier League centrally. We could have done a deal just with F1 versus going in at the team level. But philosophically, teams are where passion is. ... China is their biggest fanbase, which is a really important market for me. India is their second largest fanbase and then the U.S. is third. ... It’s about the global reach of the brand and the franchise in markets that I care about, because Snapdragon is a global brand” (
THE ATHLETIC, 7/1).
