Liverpool sign 25M "Warrior" kit deal

wellboy76

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1379466/Liverpools-mammoth-25m-year-Warrior-kit-deal-rewrites-record-books.html

Undoubtedly a fantastic deal for the club but does it matter that it is a relatively unknown brand? I personally like the Adidas brand but if they weren't going to put up the money then sobeit. And New Balance who are the parent company have signed a big deal with the Red Sox, must be all tied in.

Surprised that the media haven't mentioned it as when united signed the Nike deal it was all over Sky like a rash....

mike65

I guess its all part of some grand scheme by the parent company of Warrior to infest large parts of the world (possibly Far East and North America foremost in mind) with their brand on a red shirt.

wellboy76

mike65 wrote: »

I guess its all part of some grand scheme by the parent company of Warrior to infest large parts of the world (possibly Far East and North America foremost in mind) with their brand on a red shirt.

I was talking to a few lads tonight and one of them suggested that fans wouldnt buy the kit because it wasnt one of the "big" brands.

Not on this evidence anyway...........http://www.fcbusiness.co.uk/news/article/newsitem=984/title=spanish+league+usurps+europe%91s+merchandising+throne

Le King

United deal at the time was a huge deal. Considering France are getting 36 M a year most teams negotiating any deal in the near future will benchmark that figure.

For example our current kit deal expires in 2015. I'd be disappointed if we didn't at least get £35 Million.

It's a great deal, but I can't see how long it's going to run until. But it's not exactly a cutting edge deal at the moment. Especially for a club the size of Liverpool. It's only 1.5M bigger than a deal we signed 11 years ago.


It will be interesting to see what kind of kits they pull out. We'll have to wait two years for that however.

the untitled user

mike65 wrote: »

I guess its all part of some grand scheme by the parent company of Warrior to infest large parts of the world (possibly Far East and North America foremost in mind) with their brand on a red shirt.

Not that I know anything about them, but some of the articles on the deal mention that Warrior recently acquired a company who's main line is footy gear (no idea who, think were American though). So it's possible that Warrior may not be the brand that goes on the shirts.

parker kent

Early preview of the new kit....

the untitled user

Le King wrote: »

United deal at the time was a huge deal. Considering France are getting 36 M a year most teams negotiating any deal in the near future will benchmark that figure.

For example our current kit deal expires in 2015. I'd be disappointed if we didn't at least get £35 Million.

It's a great deal, but I can't see how long it's going to run until. But it's not exactly a cutting edge deal at the moment. Especially for a club the size of Liverpool. It's only 1.5M bigger than a deal we signed 11 years ago.


It will be interesting to see what kind of kits they pull out. We'll have to wait two years for that however.

That deal United isn't as good as it looks though, Nike got a huge chunk of United's merchandising business as part of the deal.

Btw, to put Liverpool's new deal in perspective, my own club Arsenal (a much bigger club ) get little over £5m a year from Nike.

wellboy76

the untitled user wrote: »

That deal United isn't as good as it looks though, Nike got a huge chunk of United's merchandising business as part of the deal.

Btw, to put Liverpool's new deal in perspective, my own club Arsenal (a much bigger club ) get little over £5m a year from Nike.

HAHA, £25M is pretty big considering that it is unlikely that we will see European football next season if things go against us. Not many clubs could manage that if they dropped out of European competition, whatever about Arsenal, Chelsea or City certainly couldnt

mike65

from the times

Ben Smith

Liverpool have secured the biggest kit deal in English football history, the £25 million-a-year contract with Boston-based Warrior Sports more than doubling the Anfield club’s present agreement with adidas.

The Times understands that Warrior, a subsidiary of New Balance, will take over production of Liverpool kits in time for the 2012-13 season. Adidas, which launched a new away kit last week as part of its £12 million-a-year contract with the club, had the chance to match the offer but was not prepared to meet the American company’s price.
The link between Liverpool and Warrior is believed to be a long-term relationship and outstrips the £23.3 million per year that Nike pays Manchester United, the previous British record.

John W. Henry, the Liverpool owner, has insisted since taking over at Anfield in October that the club would only spend money that it generates. With Liverpool unlikely to qualify for the Champions League this season, some had questioned their ability to compete in the transfer market. However, the agreement with a brand better known in the lacrosse world would appear to have solved the short-term cashflow problems caused by failure to qualify for Europe’s premier club tournament.

Sources inside Anfield have been increasingly bullish about their summer spending power and Kenny Dalglish is likely to have a considerable war chest when the transfer window opens.

Although the Liverpool caretaker manager believes that the crop of youngsters emerging from the academy has the potential to continue making a positive impression on his squad, he maintains that investment is necessary during the close season if the club are to become competitive again.

“It’s important that there is room for development for players, but it’s also important you don’t use it as an excuse not to spend money and not improve what you’ve already got,” Dalglish said.

“Age does not determine their ability to play. So if we’re convinced we have young players who are maybe better than what’s available, then we’ll keep our younger players.
“But that does not say we don’t want to improve as a football club. We do need to leave some path open if we do think there are players who can come in. If they develop then fine, if they don’t, we’ve got a problem. But if you buy a player in and he doesn’t produce, you’ve got a bigger problem.”

According to PR Marketing, a German market research company, Liverpool are the fourth-biggest replica kit seller in football, behind United, Real Madrid and Barcelona. About 900,000 shirts are sold annually and, in the adidas stable, only Real sell more jerseys. Liverpool’s defection has come as a huge blow to the manufacturer.

Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s owner, has in recent months become increasingly close to Jim Davis, the chairman of New Balance. This month New Balance, previously best known for its running shoes, announced a multiyear partnership with the Boston Red Sox, who share the same owner as Liverpool. Along with a kit deal, New Balance is thought to have paid in the region of $1 million (about £600,000) for a 70-foot illuminated logo inside Fenway Park, the home of the Red Sox.

United’s groundbreaking 13-year deal with Nike expires in 2015 and the Old Trafford club will expect an even bigger cheque when the time comes to negotiate with kit manufacturers.

Updated 28 minutes ago
Spot the odd one out: Nike, adidas, Umbro, Warrior, Reebok. Warrior?
Who are they? The chances are you have never heard of Liverpool’s new shirt manufacturer and unless you are a fan of lacrosse or know the NHL inside out, you will not be not alone.
In the United States, Warrior is a manufacturer to be reckoned with, providing equipment and clothing in ice hockey and lacrosse, America’s oldest sport. In 2004 the company was bought by New Balance, which retained the founder, Dave Morrow, as president and chief executive officer.
Morrow, a lacrosse player, founded Warrior in his Princeton dormitory where he developed the first titanium stick, which the university used en route to their National Championship that year. Warrior was taken from Morrow’s High School American football team in his home town of Michigan, the Brother Rice Warriors.
The buyout took Warrior to new heights and in April this year, New Balance signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with the Boston Red Sox baseball team. As part of the deal, the Red Sox have unveiled a video sign at Fenway Park, measuring 70 feet in length and 7ft 9in in height, featuring the New Balance logo. and the company now provides footwear and clothing to all “fan-facing Red Sox employees”.
New Balance had been happy to sponsor athletes while refraining from using them for advertising. The high-profile acquisitions of a handful of the Red Sox players now sponsored by New Balance is a sign that things are changing. After worldwide sales of $1.78 billion (about £1 billion), the company has changed tack and will take a more proactive approach to its marketing. Liverpool are a logical step.
Warrior remains a company in its own right, but until now has shown no signs of spreading its interest outside traditional sports. Mike Modana of the Detroit Red Wings is among the biggest names on Warrior’s roster. Liverpool will hope this particular deal allows their title dreams to take flight.

Throw in the 20 million a year from Standard Chartered and the shortfall from no CL next season doesn't seem to matter that much (obviously they'll want their moneys worth from 2012/13)

Le King

the untitled user wrote: »

That deal United isn't as good as it looks though, Nike got a huge chunk of United's merchandising business as part of the deal.

Btw, to put Liverpool's new deal in perspective, my own club Arsenal (a much bigger club ) get little over £5m a year from Nike.

Yeah they did indeed. The deal was still huge at the time.

Don't Arsenal get £13M a year? But your deal is up next season AFAIK.

ShamoBuc

That's a big chunk of money - just hope the gear is nice.... time will tell.

Ebbs

Will help us meet new UEFA regulations too.

Cant see any kind of gear they make, wonder how well they'll do with not just jersey but the tracksuits and such that comes with such a club.

wellboy76

Ebbs wrote: »

Will help us meet new UEFA regulations too.

What do you mean?

Le King

wellboy76 wrote: »

HAHA, £25M is pretty big considering that it is unlikely that we will see European football next season if things go against us. Not many clubs could manage that if they dropped out of European competition, whatever about Arsenal, Chelsea or City certainly couldnt

Chelsea sold nearly as many shirts as Liverpool between 2005-2009. Commercially Fernando Torres, if he returns to good form could help Chelsea surpass them within the next 2-3 years if Liverpool fail to qualify for the CL in that period. I wouldn't be surprised to see Chelsea pushing for a huge deal when the current one with Adidas expires. The problem being for Chelsea was that when Umbro and Chelsea terminated the contract Nike weren't in the market for Chelsea's kit leaving the market completely in Adidas' hands. However, this may change in the future.


EDIT: I realize what you are saying now as I originally misread your post. I agree with you.

dreamers75

Could be a good deal for Liverpool, great deal for Warriors.

Being a fan of a small club as well i always hoped we would sell our own jerseys without soem massive company getting all the money.

Reckon pool get a bigger cut on each jersey with this deal that they would with Nike etc:

Ebbs

wellboy76 wrote: »

What do you mean?

Income vs expendature.

Considering we arnt doing too bad in financial terms this is nearly 10million to spend on players extra a year. Just need to drive that wage budget down....(cole, Jova, etc)

nullzero

I suppose we'll be well used to the Warrior brand when half the population of Ireland is wearing the name on their Liverpool shirts.

ShamoBuc

nullzero wrote: »

I suppose we'll be well used to the Warrior brand when half the population of Ireland is wearing the name on their Liverpool shirts.

Since when has it gone down to half?;)

Guy:Incognito

ShamoBuc wrote: »

- just hope the gear is nice.... time will tell.

It wont be a copy and paste with a colour change of every other Addidas kit, so thats a bonus.

I really dotn see why kits cant be a bit individual anymore. Everyone is pretty much wearing the same template as each other across each brand. It doesnt have to be that way.

nullzero

ShamoBuc wrote: »

Since when has it gone down to half?;)

Since the country fell apart and loads of the cock-a-roaches emirgrated:pac:

wellboy76

Guy, the new away kit just revealed for next season is very nice. TBH Adidas kits tend to be nicer than the Nike or Reebok ones IMO

Paparazzo

I'd rather take a chance with warrior than go back to Reebok. Reebok are terrible quality, up there with oneills.

JPA

The Fenway Sports Group and John Henry are using all their contacts and friends to get a great deal for Liverpool, nothing wrong with that of course.

Guy:Incognito

Ebbs wrote: »

Will help us meet new UEFA regulations too..

This is why I reckon the new rules will be easy enough to circumvent.

Say Roman Abramovich wants to give Chelsea €100m, whats to stop him routing 100m in to a sportswear company that then gives Chelsea a massive ocntract? Or even a company he owns buying an advertising board in Stamford Bridge for 100m a week?

the untitled user

Le King wrote: »

Don't Arsenal get £13M a year? But your deal is up next season AFAIK.

You're probably right, I've seen everything from 5 to 13 mentioned, but the deal was front loaded to fund the Emirates so it's not worth much at the moment. It's may not be up at all though, Nike have the option to extend for another 3 years according to most reports at the time it was signed!

YouTookMyName

THe best thing they could do is sit down with a group of fans and ask them what they'd like to see in a kit, never understood why theres so much secrety surrounding the realease of a new kit.

Liking this though.

Ebbs

Guy:Incognito wrote: »

This is why I reckon the new rules will be easy enough to circumvent.

Say Roman Abramovich wants to give Chelsea €100m, whats to stop him routing 100m in to a sportswear company that then gives Chelsea a massive ocntract? Or even a company he owns buying an advertising board in Stamford Bridge for 100m a week?

My thinking too, however, they do have this wrote into the regulations in some form.

What they have is that a company can not offer considerably more than the currect market going rate. So AbramovichSportsWear couldnt come along and offer 100million, but he could go to 40million. Eventually it'll just push markets upwards as these companies outbid themselves and thus move clubs profits up.

wellboy76

ardinn

Is that some mock up or an actual Warrior prototype?

wellboy76

Mock up. Someone just made it up on TLW

UpTheSlashers

ardinn wrote: »

Is that some mock up or an actual Warrior prototype?

Mock up. Looks like an umbro kit.

Fuhrer

Looks like a rugby kit

ShamoBuc

hate that type of collar.

Dub13

Le King wrote: »

Don't Arsenal get £13M a year? But your deal is up next season AFAIK.

I think the Arsenal deal was naming rights & shirt sponsor,so its hard to compare.

wellboy76

I am still amazed that this has still not been mentioned on the likes of SSN or on MOTD

ROCKMAN

Warriors ,it was the Warriors ,the Warriors shot Cyrus.........

Pepe LeFrits

Dub13 wrote: »

I think the Arsenal deal was naming rights & shirt sponsor,so its hard to compare.

It was, the expiration dates were also spread - 2020 for the naming rights and err.. 2014? for the jersey - making it even more difficult to ascertain a specific number. Whatever the figure is, it isn't much by today's standards, but it was front loaded as Arsenal needed the money at the time.

Looks like a very impressive deal for Liverpool, although these things seem to be going up and up so I'm sure it won't be long before another club negotiates an even bigger deal!