Which Football Clubs Make The Most Money From Shirt Sales? ⚽️👕🤑💰

Kicking Profits: Unveiling the Top Earners in Football Merchandising! 🏟️👕💸

Many fans despair at the cost of their club’s official football shirt. 

Take Manchester United’s 2023/24 home shirt —£80! FC Barcelona’s —€155! 

With the ridiculously high prices and repeated headlines about clubs recouping the money spent on transfer fees and player wages through shirt sales, many of us assume that clubs are making huge profits through shirt sales. 

In reality the idea that shirt sales cover transfer fees and player wages is a myth! 

In this article we take a look at the business of football shirts. We explain how the deals between football clubs and kit suppliers like Nike and Adidas actually work. We also identify the 5 football clubs that generate the most money through shirt sales. 

Let’s get into it. 

The Business of Football Shirts

Whether it’s corporate hospitality, television broadcasting rights, or official sponsorship deals; many of us football fans know that business plays a big part in the game we love.  

One area of the football business that is misunderstood by many is the business of club shirts.

The Deals Between Shirt Suppliers and Clubs

In professional football, brands such as Nike, Adidas and Puma sign licensing agreements with football clubs. In return for a large fee, the kit supplier gets to associate their brand with the football club. 

For example, Adidas’s deal with Manchester United is worth £900 million (~$1.2 billion) over 10 years. This deal will see the German sportswear brand supply United’s kits and other apparel until June 2035. 

As well as the partnership / licensing agreement, the shirt suppliers and football clubs also agree on the rate of commission that is paid when a shirt is sold. 

The rate of the commission varies from deal to deal. Obviously, some football clubs have more negotiating power than others. 

For example, Manchester United’s deal with Adidas includes a 7.5% commission on shirt sales, whilst Liverpool’s deal with Nike sees them earn 20% commission on shirt sales. 

Note that, in comparison to the Adidas/Manchester United deal, Nike agreed a much smaller annual licensing fee with Liverpool. Where Adidas pay United around £90 million per year, Nike pays Liverpool around £30 million per year. 

Also keep in mind that many of the agreements between shirt suppliers and clubs only begin paying commission once a certain number of shirts are sold, e.g. any sales over 1 million shirts per year. 

As well as producing the home, away and 3rd football kits for the clubs, the shirt suppliers also provide the means to distribute the shirts globally. Not only does this increase sales, it also brings the football clubs’ badge or brand into new markets. 

The Football Clubs That Make The Most From Shirt Sales 

We now have an understanding of how the deals between shirt suppliers and football clubs work. So, it’s time to look at the financial data released by football clubs to see which clubs make the most from shirt sales. 

Using data from 2022, we identified which clubs make the most money from shirt sales.  

1. Manchester United

Driven largely by the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, Manchester United lead the way for shirt sales. Over the course of 2022, Man United sold approximately 3.2 million shirts. 

2. Real Madrid

The Spanish club Real Madrid come in second in our list, with an impressive total of 3.1 million shirts sold. 

3. Bayern Munich

The reigning German champions, Bayern Munich come in at 3rd, selling a total of 2.8 million shirts. 

4. Liverpool 

Liverpool sold around 2.2 million shirts, with the most popular player name being Mohammad Salah. 

5. Barcelona

Barcelona completes the top 5, with just over 1,8 million shirts sold in 2022.

So Which Club Makes the Most Money?

The sales of shirts do generate money for clubs, but remember that most clubs only earn a commission of around 10% on each shirt sold. So, imagine United sold 1 million shirts at £80, with a commission of 10%, they would make £8 million. 

When it comes to football shirts, the real money maker for football clubs is the licensing agreement they sign with the shirt supplier. 

Although Manchester United’s Adidas deal is worth around £90 million per year, this only puts them in 3rd position. 

Real Madrid’s Adidas deal works out to £110 million per year, whilst Barcelona’s deal with Nike is worth around £100 million per year!