The 11-year deal between the Yankees and Adidas will come to end when the Yanks move out of Yankee Stadium and across the street to their new digs. According to a report in Sports Business Journal (subscription required), Nike will replace Adidas as the Yanks’ sponsor.
Terry Lefton reports:
Nike and the New York Yankees have agreed in principle to a five-year sponsorship agreement that will begin in 2009, the team’s first in the new Yankee Stadium.
The cash and product deal ends a historic 11-year relationship between Adidas and the Yankees that remains one of Adidas’ biggest U.S. sports marketing expenditures…
But with the deal ending, sources said that the Yankees originally tried to sell Nike a signage package, but that Nike was more interested in other rights. Consequently, Nike’s deal with the Yankees is short on branding and long on marketing. Nike will be able to increase the amount of team apparel it already sells as an MLB licensee and it will have a store-within-store shop at the new stadium. It will also run local marketing campaigns, grassroots initiatives, and outfit Yankee coaches and minor leaguers with cleats and other performance wear.
There is no word yet as to the monetary value of the deal, but it’s sure to be a lot. The Yankees’ deals with this companies tend to pay for themselves rather quickly. Expect to see a lot of Nike signage and branding throughout the new stadium in 2009.
Hat tip to Maury Brown’s Biz of Baseball.
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