Sports sponsorship deals are a major source of revenue for both sports teams and players.

The biggest deals now reach billions of dollars. In 2020, Nike signed a lifetime deal with basketball legend Michael Jordan worth an estimated $1.3 billion.

Another notable example is the sponsorship deal between Manchester United and Adidas, worth over $1 billion and is one of the largest in sports history. We take a look at some of the of the biggest sports deals in history.

All values in US dollars, unless otherwise stated.

Ferrari's image is associated with luxury brands such as Richard Mille and Ray-Ban. After losing two long-term sponsors, Ferrari partnered with Bang & Olufsen in a deal worth around $31 million.

The collaboration offers "trackside fan experiences" for Ferrari fans worldwide throughout the F1 season.

Emirates has been a major sponsor of football clubs such as Arsenal, AC Milan, and Real Madrid for years. The airline's sponsorship deals have been increasing in size each year.

In 2023, Emirates will reportedly provide $74.6m and serve as the exclusive carrier for the club's local and international travel. 

Manchester City is a highly affluent sports organization, largely due to profitable sponsorships. The primary sponsor, Etihad Airways, reportedly contributes $81 million per year.

This amount is enough to cover the salaries of the four highest-paid players: Kevin De Bruyne, Erling Harland, Jack Grealish, and John Stones. While the sponsorship has caused controversy, it remains one of the largest deals in the sports world, accounting for approximately 25% of the club's yearly earnings.

Gatorade's partnership with the National Football League has endured 39 years of success. The traditional 'Gatorade Baths' after winning a Super Bowl have become something fans can now place bets on based on the colour of the Gatorade.

The 32 teams in the NFL reportedly consume over four hundred thousand gallons of the drink in a single season.

Apple Music outbids Pepsi with a reported $250m to secure sole sponsorship rights for the Super Bowl halftime show. While the performing act, such as Rihanna at the recent event, are not paid, the publicity gained from the exposure is significant.

For instance, Rihanna's Spotify streams increased by 640% after the show. The 2022 halftime act, Dr. Dre, also saw a 185% spike in streams after his performance with Pharrell Williams, Eminem, and other A-list stars.

Alcohol brands increasingly focus on non-alcoholic options in sports marketing. Guinness, like Heineken and other major brands, introduced a new product, Guinness 0.0, which resembles their traditional beer in taste but contains no alcohol.

This allowed the Irish stout company to expand their audience while maintaining the flavour of their beloved product.

For over 48 years Adidas has been the only kit sponsor for German giants FC Bayern. The club has since won the Bundesliga, Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and many more trophies.

Adidas has been involved with football since 1963, and started to produce footballing apparel four years later in 1967 and has since then worked with some of the games biggest teams.

One of the longest standing sponsorships in running sees John Hancock reportedly paying over $20m to high performance athletes that win the event.

It is one of the biggest purses in world running and has been in place for 37 years. The success of the sponsorship is largely due to the hands-on approach and involvement John Hancock has in the running community.

Wimbledon has used Slazenger as its sole tennis ball provider since as early as 1902. The sporting brand provides the tournament with approximately 52,000 tennis balls.

Wimbledon has hosted the most prestigious championships for over a century and seen some stars on its unique grass stage.

Nike has sponsored Tiger Woods since the start of his professional golfing career in 1996. The initial deal was worth $40m, but it has reportedly grown to around $200m.

Their partnership has led to the tradition of wearing "Tiger red Sunday," which has become popular worldwide. This enduring sponsorship is one of the largest in the sports industry.

The German football club bears the name of its home city, which is also home to Volkswagen headquarters. It is one of the longest standing sponsorships in sport, with the deal between the two being in place for over thirty one years.

The sponsorship involves not only monetary gains for the club but also transport, stadium, and equipment bonuses. Volkswagen has also pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050.

Since 1994, the 20 time grand slam winner has been synonymous with Nike and has always worn their apparel. The Japanese brand Uniqlo, already signed with tennis star Ken Nishikori, made a huge bid to sign Federer in 2018 which would surpass his deal with Nike.

The $150m per year Nike endorsement deal was doubled to a reported $300m per year deal and was signed in 2018. Although retired from playing professional tennis, Federer remains one of Uniqlo's brand ambassadors.

Former boxing heavyweight champion George Foreman is a household name, especially when linked to the culinary world. His endorsements that include his name product, George Foreman Grill, come to a reported total of $200m.

Although Foreman is retired from boxing, this deal still remains on of the highest paid endorsements of all time.

In 2021 the young Japanese superstar of tennis signed an endorsement deal and became 'world brand ambassador' for fashion giant Louis Vuitton for an undisclosed sum.

Although the specifics of the deal are unknown, Osaka's endorsements add up to a reported $52m yearly as of 2023 at just 25 years of age.

Neymar Jr ended his 15 year deal with Nike which was signed when the PSG star was just 13 years of age. His new boot deal with Puma is reported to be worth $23m per year, which would see him overtaking the likes of both Messi ($18m: Adidas) and Ronaldo ($15m: Nike).

Logan Paul and KSI's energy drink Prime has been climbing the ladders of success at rapid speed since being released on January 4 2022. The brand has become the UFC's official sports drink in a controversial deal that has caused uproar with existing energy drink sponsor, Monster Energy. The deal will run for a reported three years and the fees are currently undisclosed.

Former professional basketball player Allen Iverson nicknamed "the Answer" signed a deal with Reebok in 2001. In that same season he helped his team, the Philadelphia 76ers, to the NBA Finals and he averaged 31 points and 4.6 assists.

His recent deal renewal with Reebok will see him making a reported total of $32m by 2030 from footwear endorsements alone.

Wilson and Serena have a collaborative product in the Wilson racket lineup that is unique to the others. While Serena has no personal gain from this specific deal, the "Serena x Wilson racket" retails for approximately $723 with 100% of the proceeds going to the Serena Williams fund that was established to promote equity in sports.

FC Barcelona signed a deal in March 2022 with Spotify that is reportedly worth approximately $285m. This would help the club in its effort to close its large amount of debt (estimated $1.2b).

The Nou Camp, Barcelona's home stadium, has subsequently been renamed and is now known as "Spotify Nou Camp". The deal was confirmed in a social media post from the club, mentioning that Spotify and FC Barca would bring football and music together in a way fans had never seen before.

Tommy Hilfiger is seen by many as one of the worlds finest upmarket fashion brands of the twenty first century, and has been the apparel partner for Mercedes F1 since 2018.

High performance sport and high end fashion giants are often linked, with the Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff stating that it made sense for Tommy Hilfiger to be partnered with Mercedes especially when it was going to be a large part of the team's image.

The NBA star only comes in at ninth on Forbes' top paid athletes earning a yearly $34.9m, but this is overtaken by his endorsements from Under Armour which reportedly exceed an annual $42m.

This makes Curry the fourth highest endorsed athlete in the world and certainly one of the highest ranking sports sponsorships of all time.

Rolex has has had a long standing relationship with Federer and tennis. The multi grand slam winning athlete signed a 10 year deal in 2006 worth a reported $8m.

Beyond Rolex's impressive ambassador lineup, they are also the sole time keeper of all four major tournaments; The Australian Open, Wimbledon, Roland Garros, and the United States Open