How much will Barcelona make per year from the Spotify sponsorship deal?
There is excitement right now at the Camp Nou. Or, the Spotify Camp Nou, as it’ll soon be called. Thanks to a 12-year agreement that Barcelona have signed with Spotify, the biggest sponsorship deal in club history, the Blaugrana will be able to significantly increase their revenues over the next few years.
The deal for Spotify to become the main shirt sponsor and stadium naming rights holder of Barcelona will come into effect in the summer of 2022, when the current deal with Rakuten ends. Although there had been concerns at how the departure of Lionel Messi would hurt the Catalan club in terms of sponsorship, Joan Laporta and co. are delighted with this new deal.
FC Barcelona partnership agreement with @spotify ratified by the Extraordinary Assembly 🗳️
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 3, 2022
How much is Spotify paying Barcelona?
In total, Spotify have so far agreed to pay Barcelona €435m. But, it should be noted that there are different phases to the 12 years of the deal. The only part that has been agreed for the full 12 years is the stadium naming rights, with €5m to be paid in each of the first four years and then €20m in each of the next eight years, once the redevelopment work on the venue has been completed.
With the shirt sponsorship, so far the two parties have only committed to a deal worth €57.5m and €2.5m in add-ons for each of the first four seasons, plus €5m in training kit sponsorship for the next three years.
The fact that there are various phases to this collaboration makes it complicated to state a simple per-season figure, since we don’t know how much the shirt sponsorship will be worth from 2026 onwards.
Looking at just the next four years – when, remember, the stadium naming rights fee is considerably smaller than it will be after 2026 – Barcelona will earn at least €265m in total plus some performance-related add-ons. That works out at €66.5m per season, more than the €55m per year that Rakuten agreed to pay previously.
Barcelona’s delight at the size of the Spotify deal
President Joan Laporta has called this the biggest sponsorship deal in Barcelona’s history and he’s right. Beyond the money that will hit the Blaugrana’s accounts, there is also optimism at Barcelona over the possibilities that working with a popular brand like Spotify can bring.
As the vice-president of marketing, Juli Guiu, has stated: “This is more than a commercial deal, as it’s a strategic alliance. This deal provides the financial resources to tackle our strategic projects and future plans, while there will also be exclusive benefits for members. It has been clear to us from day one that this agreement goes beyond a normal sponsorship contract.”