It started with stories from Brazilian sources and it has now been confirmed; the business partnership of 15 years between Neymar and Nike has ended.
On Saturday, Nike spokesperson Josh Benedek confirmed in an email to AFP that Neymar is no longer a Nike athlete.
The Neymar-Nike relationship goes back to the player’s teenage years and through his professional career Neymar has provided Nike with perfect marketing alignment – something that isn’t always the case. Nike has been the sponsor of each of Neymar’s clubs – Santos, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain – as well as the Brazil national team.
In 2011, Neymar and Nike agreed a deal through to 2022 that was reported at the time as being worth over $100 million.
Spanish publication Marca offered an insight into some of the bonus provisions of that deal. Finishing as the best player or top scorer at a World Cup was worth $200,000.
Being part of a World Cup winner would generate a bonus of $50,000; runner-up $30,000.
The Olympic Games was a rank lower with a Gold Medal worth $20,000 to Neymar; $100,000 for top scorer; $150,000 as best player.
The big money was in winning the Ballon d’Or with a bonus worth $1 million; repeated wins were capped at $4 million. Neymar has never won the Ballon d’Or.
Neymar’s base remuneration was tied to appearances for Brazil with a requirement to appear in a minimum of 70% of Brazil’s matches.
Over the time of the contract Neymar was given his own product line and a new boot, the Mercurial Vapor Jogo Prismático, was launched in April of this year.
Who Neymar looks to now is not yet clear, although Puma has been on an acquisition spree over the last few years and will likely be interested.
Neymar the Company
A look at Neymar’s website provides an insight into “Brand-Neymar” with Culture, Community, and the Nike product line together with the aside of what might be happening on the pitch.
Forbes estimates Neymar’s earnings at just under $95 million per year with $70 million coming from his PSG contract. His social media followers total 244 million and it helps drive sponsorship deals worth $25 million with the likes of Beats Electronics, EA, Gillette, MasterCard, and Red Bull.
Neymar is ranked by Forbes as the 7th highest paid celebrity in the world and the 4th highest paid athlete. Cristiano Ronaldo was #4, and Lionel Messi #5.
Nike and PSG
The business relationship between Nike and Paris Saint-Germain goes back over 30 years to the 1989-90 season. In 2013, the partnership was renewed through to 2021-22 but before the term was up there was an extension to 2031/32.
The value of the deal has never been made public but a number north of $70 million per season is commonly mentioned and the deal is one of the largest in world soccer.
Given that the partnership was in place before Neymar signed for PSG and runs until well after Neymar will have retired, there is little logic to the theory that Nike will abandon PSG.
The notion is further undermined when you consider that PSG’s Kylian Mbappé is sponsored by Nike. Mbappé is seven years younger than Neymar and at this time the Frenchman has more commercial upside than Neymar.
Going into the new season Nike has kits deals with major teams such as Liverpool, Barcelona, PSG, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, and Galatasaray. Nike also has established stars such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos, Alex Morgan, and Virgil van Dijk under contract as well as teenager Alphonso Davies.
