Nike vs New Balance - Who Will Win The Liverpool Kit Court Battle This Month? ALL Details + Our Prediction
Already last week, it emerged that Liverpool's new Nike deal that will being in 2020 is worth only 30 million GBP, which is 15 million GBP less than New Balance is currently paying. This is first because LFC getting 20 per cent royalty on net sales of LFC products, and second because Nike can offer the club more in general than New Balance. Today we want to take a closer look at how Nike wn to promote Liverpool.
In the High Court papers of the New Balance against Nike battle, there are several points that underline how Nike wants to promote Liverpool.
Non-Money Reasons For Liverpool To Switch To Nike
The reason why Liverpool FC wants to join Nike is mainly not because New Balance would be not able to offer the same amount of money but because of the advantages that Nike can offer as much bigger brand.
All this is very important because the battle to manufacture Liverpool’s kit from 2020-21 is to be settled by a High Court judge next month.
It alleges Liverpool are in breach of a matching clause agreement allowing it to extend its contract to manufacture the kit.
Nike Plans To Market Liverpool With Non-football Global Superstar Athletes And Influencers
Nike would plan to market Liverpool through initiatives which feature not less than three “non-football global superstar athletes and influencers of the calibre of” Williams, Drake and LeBron James. LeBron James from the Los Angeles Lakers is a minor shareholder of Liverpool FC.
Nike Has A Larger Distribution Network
During the negotiations with New Balance and Nike, Liverpool commissioned an independent review by Deloitte which concluded Nike could “super charge distribution in a way challenger brands [like New Balance] are not able to do.” Nike will distribute the new kit through “6,000 global doors” with New Balance having not exceeded “3,000 global doors.”
Nike Is The Much Bigger & Renowned Brand
Another important difference if Liverpool would switch to Nike that the Swoosh has the much better brand value and equity than New Balance. Nike is the most popular sports brand in most countries (only Adidas is on the same level), while New Balance is below the big two and also Puma - New Balance is just one of the many sportswear brands that are ranked below the Top 2 & Puma in football.
Who Will Win The Battle?
There is ONE BIG advantage for New Balance New Balance have a matching clause agreement that allows to extend its contract to manufacture the Liverpool kit. So, in example, if the court would set an amount of money of the non-financial terms Nike is offering, we think that New Balance could offer the determined sum to keep Liverpool’s kit maker.
We think that in the end, we think that it is most likely that New Balance will be compensated by Nike / the club and that Nike will make Liverpool's kits from 2020. Something like this has been also already the case in the past. In example, Chelsea and Adidas agreed to end sponsorship deal six years early ahead of move to Nike in 2016 (Chelsea paid around £40 million to exit their Adidas deal ).
Who do you think will win the court battle? Who do you think will make Liverpool's kits from 2020? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
