CBF will claim from Nike payment of royalties for the sale of national team shirts

Encouraged by the information about the sales of the shirts of the Brazilian team in the year of the World Cup, the president of the CBF (Brazilian Football Confederation), Ednaldo Rodrigues, recently asked advisors how much the entity would receive from royalties from Nike.

“Nothing,” was the reply.

Next month, Rodrigues will meet for the first time since he was elected to the position, in March this year, with executives from the North American multinational, the oldest sponsor of the CBF. Claiming the payment of a percentage of the sale of shirts has become one of the items on the agenda, found Sheet.

Among the 32 teams qualified for the World Cup in Qatar, which will start in November this year, Nike has a contract for the supply of sports equipment with 13. Last week, the company officially released the design of the uniforms that will be used in the tournament. teams, including Brazil.

When consulted by the report, the CBF said that it does not comment on its contracts. Nike did not respond.

At the meeting with the company’s executives, Ednaldo Rodrigues should also speak about the introduction of the anti-corruption clause in the contract, requested by Nike. The sports equipment supplier wants to put it on paper after the scandals with the last presidents of the confederation. Rodrigues says he accepts the idea and takes the initiative to discuss it. .

Ricardo Teixeira, Marco Polo Del Nero and José Maria Marin were involved in Fifagate, the investigation of corruption in FIFA (International Football Federation) made by the FBI, the federal police of the United States. Marin was arrested, and Del Nero could face the same fate if he leaves Brazil. Rogério Caboclo ended up removed from the presidency after a complaint of sexual harassment.

Nike had proposed in the past to include the clause, but the idea was rejected.

The CBF is also negotiating an extension of the contract, which can go up to 2030, provided that cash is paid to the entity at the time of signing.

Nike’s contracts with national federations are confidential, but the CBF is trying to find out if the company pays commissions to other teams for selling shirts. Even if the company fails to do so, the claim will stand.

There is precedent. During the 2021 Copa América, Chile was in litigation with Nike over a contractual dispute. One of the complaints was that the supplier of the sports equipment withheld payments that should have been made to the national federation. One of them refers to royalties from uniforms sold between July 2019 and July 2020.

In clubs, such payment is customary. In the English Premier League, the richest national league in the world, the standard is for the team to receive 7.5% of the value of each shirt sold. According to the British press, Liverpool had the highest percentage in the negotiation of their contract: 20%. The club’s uniform supplier is Nike.

The multinational has been a sponsor of the CBF since 1996. The document was signed during Ricardo Teixeira’s administration and filled with controversy. THE Sheet obtained, in 1999, a copy of the original agreement, in which the confederation ceded part of the control over the Brazilian team to the North American company.

The team would have the opponents chosen by Nike in 50 friendlies for ten years. At least “eight holders” of the selection would have to be on the field in each of them.

According to an ESPN Brasil report, the CBF currently receives from Nike US$ 35.5 million (R$ 187.8 million at the current price) per year. It’s almost double what Adidas pays to sponsor Argentina (about US$ 20 million or R$ 105.8 million).

According to a balance published on the CBF website, the entity received R$ 575.7 million in sponsorships last year. The contracts referring to the Brazilian team represent 98% of this amount.