The partnership between the premier football club and the blockchain platform will unveil new £20m-per-year training kit sponsorship.
United Strikes Sponsorship Deal With Tezos
The news is still awaiting official confirmation from either party, but according to early reports, United has already shot promotional materials at the club’s training center ahead of an announcement. Tezos is replacing the sponsorship contract between United and American insurance company Aon, which expired at the end of last season. Initially, plans were to replace Aon with The Hut Group. However, the latter pulled out over concerns of a fan campaign to boycott United’s commercial partners. Since then, the team has not had a front-of-shirt training sponsor this season. Other initial reports are also indicating that the sponsorship deal will be extending beyond United’s training kit. The deal might involve ventures in the technology space, intended to strengthen the club’s presence in the metaverse space, likely through NFT launches.
United’s Still Got It
Reportedly, United has been looking into other sponsors in the blockchain space and has finally settled into the multi-year sponsorship with Tezos at £20 million per year. There have been detractors who have pointed out the high computing power needed by blockchain transactions. However, it appears that United has done their due diligence in selecting a credible partner, as Tezos, which is a layer 1, proof-of-stake platform, is much more energy-efficient.
The pandemic and poor performance on the field had raised some questions regarding United’s commercial appeal to partners. However, this deal with Tezos is reaffirming the club’s influence, which was likely to be boosted by the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo back from Juventus.
Tezos Continues Sports Sponsorships
Tezos, on the other hand, is lining up sports sponsorships, one after the other. It became the first-ever blockchain partner of the New York Mets back in May 2021. In fact, it was the first blockchain deal in the entire Baseball Major League. Most recently, the blockchain platform has joined up with the French esports organization as its primary technical partner in one of the largest deals in European esports history.
However, one of the most noteworthy partnership deals struck by Tezos was with Red Bull Racing Honda. In May 2021, the two organizations announced their partnership under which Tezos will be building the racing team’s first-ever NFT experience. The blockchain platform has also sponsored McClaren Racing across Formula 1, Indycar, and Esports platforms.
Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
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