GdS: Milan’s €500m Adidas deal causes reaction from rivals Inter – the situation

By: Oliver Fisher

Inter are looking enviously at their city rivals AC Milan once again after Saturday’s derby, with the news of the record Adidas deal emerging.

As reported by La Gazzetta dello Sport on Wednesday, under the new agreement Adidas will pay Milan €50m per year for ten seasons starting from 2028-29. This is when the collaboration with PUMA ends, who currently pay €24.5m per year, as per the last accounts.

The paper (via Calciomercato.com) go on to state that it is likely that the €50m yearly figure includes sporting bonuses, such as participation in the Champions League, the value of material supplies (value in kind) and a portion to be invested in promotional activities (marketing fund).

Contracts with kit makers are not limited to recognising the value of just the home, away, third and other shirts, but can extend to the sale of related products. Then, guaranteed minimums and royalties come into play that are triggered above a certain turnover threshold.

For example, in addition to the €24.5m from PUMA, €55.8m in revenues came from store, e-commerce and merchandising/licensing activities, in particular those relating to the contract with the same German company and those from licensing with Fanatics and MatchWornShirt.

As for Inter, the renewal with Nike – effective from 2023 – resulted in a 70% increase over the previous contract, but the €28m per year is not in line with the club’s current commercial value. In addition to the Milan-Adidas deal, Juventus currently get €46m per year from Adidas (€41m from 2027-28).

Inter have maintained their merchandising revenues internally, over €35m in 2025-26 thanks to the new business model introduced with Fanatics, but Nike’s €28m is too little according to the Nerazzurri’s commercial management.

The contract expires in 2031, and La Gazzetta report that they will seek to renegotiate the deal to avoid accumulating delays over the next five years. Considering that Juventus and Milan have committed to the next decade, Inter have leverage as the only one of the ‘big three’ up for grabs.