World Cup: did Nike cheat Nigeria in Super Eagles sponsorship deal?
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Nike paid Nigeria $4million for World Cup sponsorship and for Super Eagles to wear their logo on their jerseys.Just in a space of 3 hours Nike made $255 million from sales of Super Eagles jersey to Nigerians globally.
In 2015, the Nigeria Football Football Federation revealed that it would earn $3.75m (743m Naira) during its three-and-half-year partnership with Nike and a $500,000 (99m Naira) bonus if the Super Eagles qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia among other perks.
The contract is worth $750, 000 (148m Naira) in its first year and would rise to $1million (198m Naira) each year from 2016 till 2018.
After ending its previous 700,000 Euros-a-year contract (150m Naira) with German giants Adidas in December 2014, the NFF opted to go with Nike in a three-and-half-year deal which will see the American sportswear company supply kits from April 1, 2015, until at least 2018.
In contrast, England will continue wearing Nike kit until 2030 after the Football Association secured a new contract that could be worth in excess of £400m.
The FA have had a contract with the sportswear manufacturer for three years and has now signed a 12-year contract extension, effective from August 2018.
It is understood the deal is worth in the region of £400m – a baseline figure that could be added to significantly should performance-related bonuses be achieved.
Though the Nigeria/Nike deal is a minimal upgrade from the Adidas contract that ran out in December 2014 in which the German giants paid the NFF 700,000 euros (N150m) a year it is nowhere near the amounts being paid to other national teams and big name individual sports stars which means the deal isn’t worth celebrating considering Nigeria’s high profile in the footballing world.
Before its deal with Nigeria this week, the sportswear giants signed a deal with the Football Federation of Chile (ANFP) worth $7 million per year – more than twice the South American previous kit deal with Puma.
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In total, Nike will pay the Football Federation of Chile $56 million for eight years. While South Africa is also earns $4 million a year in its deal with the American company which all dwarfs Nigeria’s earnings in the widely celebrated deal.
For instance, Portugal and Real Madrids Cristiano Ronaldo earns £14.1m a year, tennis star, Roger Federer gets £10m a year, Neymar of Brazil and Barcelona takes home £9.5m a year from Nike. In 2003, Nike paid golfer, Rory Mcllory $250m for 10 years.
Other stars raking in millions from Nike are Rafael Nadal who pockets $10m yearly, former World’s number one golfer, Tiger Woods earns $20m a year, baseball player, Derek Jeter gets $10m a year, basketball star, LeBron James is paid $10m a year just as retired basketball legend, Michael Jordan still takes home the highest sum of $60m a year from Nike.
Nike paid NIgeria $4million for World Cup sponsorship and for Super Eagles to wear their logo on their jerseys, but in a space of 3hours Nike made $255 million from sales of Eagles jersey to Nigerians globally.
One wonders how the $4m sponsorship amount was arrived at.
Could it be the same way Nigeria paid $480m to US for 12 Tuscano fighter jets while Ghana paid less than a 3rd of the price for same equipment.
Or the same way Nigeria is now paying China $5.8b (up from negotiated $3.8b in 2014) for 3,000mw hydro power plant in Mambilla Plateau while Ethiopia is paying the same Chinese $4.8b for 6,450mw (more than double Mambilla capacity) hydro-power plant.
