It is expected to be announced that Manchester United have partnered with blockchain platform Tezos as part of a multi-year sponsorship of their training kit. The Athletic reported that the parties have agreed a deal worth $27 million a year, and that they have already filmed promotional materials at the club’s training center to go along with the announcement.
The eight-year $162.45 million sponsorship agreement that United had with American insurance company Aon came to an end at the end of last season. There were talks to replace Aon with The Hut Group, but those negotiations broke down after The Hut Group pulled out of the deal because of concerns over the campaign by supporters to boycott United’s commercial partners as part of a protest against the Glazer family’s ownership of the club. This season, the team has been operating without a sponsor on the front of the shirt of the training shirt.
A major partnership with Tezos will be announced by United in the near future, following subsequent talks with several other companies, including some in the blockchain area.
Despite the ongoing pandemic and the testing period of performance on the pitch, United’s deal has provided the club with confidence that its commercial appeal to partners remains strong. Cristiano Ronaldo signed from Juventus in the summer, and United have benefited from this signing because it has helped drive commercial opportunities, although they view these opportunities as secondary to Ronaldo’s potential contribution on the pitch.
Tezos has been investing in sport sponsorships by becoming the first blockchain-based deal for the New York Mets in May 2021, in addition to becoming the first blockchain deals for any of the 30 Major League Baseball teams.
Red Bull Racing Honda announced in May that the racing team had entered into a deal with Tezos in which the blockchain secured a deal to build the racing team’s first ever NFT experience. Additionally, Tezos has been designated as a sponsor of McClaren Racing across Formula 1, Indycar, and Esports.
Tezos was named as the primary technical partner of esports organization Team Vitality in January 2022, one of the largest deals in “European esports history”, through which Tezos secured front-of-shirt visibility for the organization.
In addition, it is believed that the deal may involve collaborations that extend beyond the United’s training kit. This would help United in their attempts to maximize opportunities within the technology space, such as metaverse and “web 3.0.”.
