Leaked Contract Sheds Light on Youth Player Sponsorships

Something that a lot of you must have been wondering about is how exactly the sponsorship contracts between brands and players look like. Courtesy of French site Espoirs du Football, a full contract of that kind has been leaked, with brand and player names obviously blacked out.

First off, the second line shows the contract duration, 4 years, from 2016 to 2020, indicating that it is a contemporary contract.

Due to the fact that the contract mentions the player reaching the French U17 national team, it can be assumed that it's a contract of the most basic type and for a player of that age - contacts for professional and well-known players are much more complex and come with added benefits.

Presumably due to the fact that the contract is for a youth player, there are no fixed sums of money that will be paid over the duration of it. Instead, the player receives 'only' free boots and sportswear in return for committing to the brand.

Perhaps interestingly, the supply of boots seems to be determined by the brand only, while the 'textile' part is up to the player. At the most basic level, he can get goods of up to €5000 ($5453, £4458) face value per season - this raises up to €8000 if he reaches the French U21 national team. Those have to be collected at the brand's concept stores.

Last but not least, a number of money bonuses are specified at the very bottom of the contract page. Those appear to be only valid for international tournaments between U19 and U21 level (U19 + U21 Euro, U20 World Cup). They state that the player would receive €5000 each for winning such tournament, being chosen as the best player and becoming the top goalscorer.

Are you surprised by what is mentioned in this exemplary contract? Share your thoughts below.