Collingwood has extended its lucrative uniform sponsorship with Emirates and will earn an estimated $10 million from the airline over the next five years in a deal that highlights the growing gap between the AFL’s haves and have-nots.
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The Emirates deal will help Collingwood top $20 million in combined sponsorship and merchandise revenue for the 2014 season, a feat only previously achieved by Essendon and Richmond in the AFL.
Last year, AFL premier Hawthorn banked $19 million in sponsorship and merchandise revenue, Essendon earned $20.1 million and Richmond led the AFL with $22.9 million - more than half the Tigers' total revenue of $44.8 million.
At the other end of the AFL rich list, St Kilda is still trying to secure a top-level sponsor.
Such is the divergence in revenue that some of the AFL’s richest clubs could earn more from sponsorship and merchandise than St Kilda, Melbourne and North Melbourne combined.
The Saints earned just $6.4 million from sponsorships and merchandise sales last season. Melbourne’s combined total was $7.1 million and North Melbourne’s $8.8 million.
Collingwood president Eddie McGuire was all smiles after spending more than six months negotiating the new Emirates contract, which will extend the airline’s partnership with the Magpies to 20 years.
The deal began in 1999 and was the first major sponsorship struck by McGuire after he was elected president of the then struggling club in October, 1998.
''The Emirates logo has adorned the black and white strip for the past 15 years and we are very pleased that our partnership will continue to go from strength to strength,'' he said.
McGuire and operations manager David Emerson flew to Dubai in the middle of last year, and the club wanted $3.5 million a season for Emirates to remain Collingwood’s premier partner.
Emirates previously paid $1 million a season, and talks stalled after an informal meeting during the Melbourne Cup Carnival.
McGuire then met with Emirates’ global head of marketing and sponsorship, Roger Duthie, in January - a man who has negotiated deals with FIFA, Arsenal, Real Madrid and formula one supremo Bernie Ecclestone - to finalise a deal.
Duthie said the negotiations with Collingwood had been tough at times.
''At the end of the day, Australian Rules football is a niche sport for us, it is not global, but we recognise the fact that this is our longest sporting partnership anywhere in the world,'' he said.
"When we needed a deal all those years ago, when we got into bed with Collingwood, the deal was there to get a job-specific job done for us. That was create awareness for our brand. That job has been done. Now we want to show the fans and the club that this is a partnership. That’s why we re-signed. We weren’t going to say, ‘thank you very much, now we’re out of here’. This deal is about giving back to the club for the next five years.''
The deal helps enshrine Collingwood as the wealthiest club in the AFL.
The Magpies earned more than $74 million last season and ended the year with more than $10.5 million of cash in the bank.
