Man United and Snapdragon Unveil 2024-25 Home Jerseys
Manchester United revealed its new home jersey for the 2024-25 season on Monday, a shirt that features the Snapdragon brand for the first time, replacing TeamViewer.
The sponsorship was announced in September and will display the Qualcomm-owned brand on the home, away and third shirts of the Premier League’s most valuable team, as well as its women’s club and training kits for both teams.
Terms of the contract were not released, but it is expected to be worth more than $75 million annually and the largest jersey deal in soccer, according to someone familiar with the agreement who was not authorized to speak publicly. Real Madrid’s agreement with Emirates is worth roughly $75 million a year.
“I have a big objective to build the Snapdragon brand globally and push it more into the consumer space,” Don McGuire, Qualcomm CMO, said in a video interview. “When we looked at truly building scale for the brand, all roads led to global football as a place we should play … and we view the EPL as the cream of the crop when it comes to global football.”
Snapdragon processors power smartphones, PCs, autos, gaming devices and wearables, and it started using sports as a marketing platform several years ago. CAA was its agency partner and helped identify sponsorship opportunities. In 2022, Snapdragon put its name on San Diego State’s new football stadium, which also hosts NWSL’s San Diego Wave and will be the home for MLS’ 2025 expansion team—Qualcomm is based in San Diego. It is involved in mobile esports with the ESL Snapdragon Pro Series. Last year, it signed a multiyear partnership with Mercedes’ F1 team and sponsored Man United’s 2023 U.S. summer tour.
McGuire ticks off the numbers on why the ROI makes sense for Snapdragon: 1 billion-plus United fans, a jersey sold every 15 seconds and a match at Old Trafford generating the broadcast exposure equivalent of a Super Bowl ad.
The deal also has a few unique characteristics. Once a year, Snapdragon has the right to switch out its logo for a charitable partner. Snapdragon also controls the real estate on the back of the jersey for a sponsor and is talking to potential partners about who that might be, which requires approval by United. “It is a really interesting opportunity where we can bring value to one of our partners that they may not normally get,” McGuire said.
Fans will be able to scan the logo on the front of the jerseys, which will provide an augmented reality (AR) experience that takes them to the field of Old Trafford. Snapdragon will develop more content during the season.
United enlisted club legend Eric Cantona to promote the launch and received a boost when pop star Sabrina Carpenter was recently spotted wearing a version of the new shirt. The away and third jerseys will be released later in July.
Manchester United ranked first in Sportico’s annual list of the most valuable soccer teams at $6.2 billion. Some 39% of its $778 million in revenue during the 2022-23 season was from sponsorships and merchandise
