Tottenham are reportedly on the verge of securing Nike as the club's new kit suppliers from the 2017/18 season. With Spurs' contract with Under Armour due to expire at the end of the current season, Nike are ready to swoop in with a deal worth an estimated £25m per season.
Under Armour, who linked up with Spurs in 2011, were paying the North London club £10m-a-year for the honour, so the new deal with Nike, once confirmed, will be a timely cash injection as the club move into their brand new stadium in 2018. The annual figure Nike are set to pay Tottenham is believed to be around £25m-a-year, but with Spurs chairman Daniel Levy a notoriously hard-bargainer and with Spurs' London rivals Chelsea picking up a cool £60m-a-season from their new deal with the Swoosh, you can bet that Spurs will be pushing Nike as high as they can go. Qualification for the Champions League will no doubt demand a bonus.
For Nike, who only have one Premier League club in Manchester City this season, they'll be looking to regain a stronger stake in the 2017/18 kit game. They've already announced a deal to take on Chelsea and the capture of Tottenham would secure three of the Premier League's elite. Quality over quantity appears to be the strategy. In recent seasons Nike have cut ties with Manchester United and Arsenal, so in short, they're in need of some big hitters. On the flip side, adidas will be left with just one 'big' English club next season, and potentially zero involvement in English Champions League teams. For Under Armour, they're left with Southampton, as it stands.
Another attractive asset Tottenham have to offer Nike from 2018 is that they've secured a deal to host at least two NFL matches for at least ten years at their new 61,000-seater stadium. With Nike holding the official uniform rights for the NFL, the American brand will no doubt have full freedom to transform the new £400 million stadium into a Nike takeover for these planned NFL games.
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