Sports and The Economy

Barcelona's president Josep Maria Bartomeu (Left) and chief executive of Japanese company Rakuten, Hiroshi Mikitani (Rright), display Barcelona's new shirt

On October 25, 2016 my American Sport in the 21st Century Class discussed the economy and its' relationship to sports. We discussed how money has become the foundation of sport. Profit motive shapes owners and athletes as salaries and endorsements for athletes continue to rise, while owners sponsorship deals continue to increase.We defined sponsorship in class as fees paid to have a brand associated with a team, league, facility or event. Football Club (FC) Barcelona's current sponsor is Qatar Airways for around 24 million pounds a year, and now will be changing their to sponsorship to the online firm, Rakuten. FC Barcelona one of the biggest soccer clubs in the world and their new deal with Rakuten could make them the wealthiest club in the world, passing their rival club Real Madrid. The sponsorship deal will last four years and Barcelona is expected to make 188 million pounds, with more money to be earned for winning the Spanish Championship or the Champions League. The reason behind paying 188 million pounds is to expand their brand globally. With FC Barcelona having high profile players such as Lionell Messi and Neymar wearing Rakuten on the front, one can anticipate the brand expanding globally.
FC Barcelona will become even wealthier, as they have signed a new 10 year uniform sponsorship with Nike, which is reportedly going to pay 134 million pounds a year. FC Barcelona is planning to use the profit from these sponsorships to pay for seat expansion at Camp Nou Stadium from 99,350 to 150,000 seats.

Barcelona Current Jerseys and 3 highest paid players, Suarez, Neymar and Messi.

In class we discussed who benefits economically from sports and the article confirms that owners and athletes benefit economically from sports. The owner of FC Barcelona is making hundreds of millions of dollars off sponsorship and television deals, while this money is used to pay their players high salaries such as Lionel Messi, who earns $250,000 a week.

http://www.bbc.com/news/business-38003752