With news coming out today that Marcus Rashford will release his very own signature boot design with Nike, it got us thinking here at SportsLens – which players receive the most money for their on-field footwear collaborations? With that mind, we will guide you through the biggest boot deals in football below.
Biggest Boot Deals in Football
Jack Grealish (Puma) – £10m Per-Year
The England and Manchester City midfielder is proving to be one of football’s hottest properties on and off the pitch.
Not only is he finally getting the recognition for his mercurial performances in City’s treble-chasing season, but he recently became affiliated with high-fashion brand Gucci, as well as headphone giants Bose.
However, his most recent collaboration signals a pivotal moment in his meteoric rise – you may remember him donning a pair of tattered boots for Aston Villa as they were promoted from the Championship in 2019.
Fast-forward to March of this year, where it was revealed he would swap Nike for Puma in a monumental five-year £10 million per-season deal – the largest of its kind ever to be handed to a British player, according to the Daily Mail.
In comparison, the nation’s next biggest-earner from boot sponsorships is Harry Kane, who receives £4m annually from Nike.
Kylian Mbappe (Nike) – £14m Per-Year
Arguably the most marketable footballer in world football at this moment in time, Kylian Mbappe’s boundless potential as one of the sport’s future greats commands commercial attention.
Nike decided to shoulder that responsibility by tying the 2018 World Cup winner down in the same year, with a contract that’ll see him don the brand’s apparel until 2028.
Although his future in the French capital remains unclear as PSG undergo another toxic swathe of criticism, there is no doubting his stock will only continue to increase.
Not only is he the most expensive player on the planet, but he also pockets £14m per-season just from his agreement with Nike. This puts him just behind Cristiano Ronaldo as the brand’s highest paid footballer, but there is also an added clause should he lift the Champions League, where £3m will be added per-year onto his current figure according to Total Sportal.
Cristiano Ronaldo (Nike) – £15m Per-Year
As mentioned, five-time Ballon D’or recipient Cristiano Ronaldo is Nike’s highest earner when it comes to football partners.
Rather incredibly, one of the game’s greatest ever marksman was effectively handed a lifetime contract by the brand, with whom he has flown the flag since bursting on the scene as a budding young teenager.
Only LeBron James and Michael Jordan have ever been granted such a prestigious deal by Nike, but the then-Real Madrid forward’s deal was signed with the understanding that he would be paid around £770m, or $1bn over the span of his career. This works out at roughly £15m per-year.
After a rancorous interview with Piers Morgan that effectively ended his second stint at Manchester United, the 38-year-old now plys his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr.
Nike would certainly have been second guessing their lifetime agreement following the brazen remarks made about United, but his monumental, multi-million strong following across social media, coupled with his unrivalled footballing legacy, still outweighs his recent transgressions.
Lionel Messi (Adidas) – £18m Per-Year
Adidas must have been licking their lips when Lionel Messi lifted the World Cup in Qatar last year, donning an Argentina made by the brand themselves, as their most marketable asset hoisted the Jules Rimet trophy in the sky for the perfect photo opportunity.
Similar to that of Michael Jordan’s sub-brand with Nike, Lionel Messi has his own range of boots and apparel with the German maunfacturer, which is rolled into his lifetime agreement.
According to Sports Brief, Messi’s agreement stretches back way before the dizzying heights of seven Ballon D’ors and multiple Champions Leagues, beginning when he was just a teenager in 2006.
However, in 2017, he agreed to extend his contract with the brand which would cover the rest of his playing days, working out at around $1bn to see out his illustrious career.
Being one of, if not the greatest of all time, the Argentine is almost certainly immune to the brand’s recent cost-cutting after reporting losses for the first time in three decades.
Neymar (Puma) – £23m Per-Year
Having long been synonymous with flamboyant Nike boots, Puma continued their staggering infiltration of football partners by snapping up Neymar from under their rivals noses, in the most expensive annual sponsorship deal ever.
He decided to switch brands whilst still in the midst of an 11-year agreement with Nike, with Puma’s £23m per-year proposal proving too lucrative to pass up – it is believed he doubled his annual figure in the process.
Upon signing the agreement, the Brazilian said: “I grew up watching films of great football icons like Pele, Johan Cruyff, Lothar Matthaus, Eusebio and Diego Maradona, who each played in Puma.
“I wish to bring back then legacy that those athletes created on the pitch.”
According to Total Sportal, it is the single biggest contract handed to a sporting individual at the time of writing.
Honourable Mention
Erling Haaland (Nike) – £unknown
It is hard to believe the most sought-after striker in world football had no apparel deal for a year before re-joining with Nike at the end of March.
Nevertheless, the brand’s announcement came with a wave of speculation as to how much the deal was worth, but neither Haaland, nor Nike, have divulged the official figure.
Erling Haaland has signed a new boot deal with Nike 👟 pic.twitter.com/4MrOdweLYH
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 31, 2023
However, in October of last year, Haaland’s lawyer Rafaela Pimenta claimed the 22-year-old was in the process of ‘signing the biggest sponsorship deal in the history of football.’
Although we can neither confirm nor deny that this is true, it would be safe to say he comfortably slots into this list, given the deal is expected to last the rest of his already glittering career.
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