Sports merchandising company Fanatics said Tuesday it has agreed to extend its partnership with soccer club Paris Saint-Germain.
Terms were not announced, but people with knowledge of the deal told CNBC the 10-year pact is the largest financial deal the 25-year-old retailer has struck with a sports team.
The agreement also replaces the e-commerce only agreement and gives Fanatics more control of the club's manufacturing and "the master licensee" for Paris Saint-Germain team merchandise. "The expansion will propel the Paris Saint-Germain merchandising business into one of the biggest in the world of sport," the company said.
In an email to CNBC, Fanatics executive chairman Michael Rubin called the agreement "exciting." He said it allows the company "to partner with one of the most progressive clubs worldwide that, like us, is consistently thinking about new and creative ways to grow their brand and transform the direct-to-consumer experience.
"PSG is now our biggest global football partner, and I can't wait to begin our work together," Rubin added.
PSG, which has more than 5,000 licensed products, said it wants to double its total licensees over the next two years with the new deal.
"This agreement marks yet another new chapter in Paris Saint-Germain's ambitious growth story," PSG Chairman Nasser Al-Khelaifi told CNBC in an email. "In Fanatics, we are partnering with the global leader of sports merchandising, a collaboration which will bring with it a vast array of unique commercial opportunities across the globe.Â
"Over the next 10 years, Paris Saint-Germain and Fanatics will work to further enhance the reach and appeal of the Club's brand and merchandising excellence. Through enriching our product offer and in extending the Club's footprint into new markets, this collaboration will serve as one of the core pillars of our commercial strategy."
In June 2019, PSG agreed to a $91 million extension with Nike, which allows the team to utilize the company's Jordan Brand. The Fanatics agreement excludes PSG's Nike products.
PSG, owned by overseas powerhouse Qatar Sports Investments, is worth roughly $1 billion, according to Forbes. In 2017, the club paid Barcelona a $263 million transfer fee for the rights to soccer megastar Neymar.
"Paris Saint-Germain embraces the fast-changing world of e-commerce, and through this agreement we are best positioning ourselves to capitalize on the opportunity at hand," added Al-Khelaifi, chairman of the board of Qatar Sports.
