The movement among sporting equipment suppliers promises to redesign a significant part of the Brazilian market from 2026 onwards. Amid long negotiations and fierce competition, traditional clubs have been seeking new partners in more robust contracts, which reflect a recent evolution of the sector in the country.
Still, despite the growth, the values remain far from those practiced in European football, where the main clubs have turned this type of agreement into one of their biggest sources of revenue.
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After months of conversations, Fluminense confirmed that Puma will be its new supplier from next year, ending the relationship with Umbro. The German company overcame the competition with Nike, which negotiated with the club, and expanded its presence in the national elite, where it already serves Palmeiras, Bahia and Red Bull Bragantino. The exchange movement, however, is far from limited to the Rio team.
Vasco decided to end its partnership with Kappa and signed a seven-year contract with Nike valid from 2026, in one of the longest negotiations involving the recent Brazilian market. Atlético Mineiro will follow the same route. From next season onwards, he will leave Adidas and also wear Nike, aligning his uniform with the commercial repositioning strategy of the new SAF management.
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Grêmio, in turn, has not yet made an official announcement, but is preparing its move to New Balance in January 2026. The final sewing of the agreement is being led by the new Grêmio management, which sees in the North American supplier an opportunity to expand the presence of the club’s brand in markets that are still little explored.
Among the clubs that moved up a division, only Remo maintains a supplier of entirely Brazilian origin. Volt, which also plays for ten other clubs in the country, signed an extension of a contract with the team from Pará that began in 2021. The club’s good phase and the engagement of fans in Belém boosted sales to more than one hundred thousand pieces in official stores and e-commerce.
According to Fernando Kleimmann, managing partner of Volt Sport, the continuous presence in the different phases of the club strengthened the relationship. He states: “It’s a lasting partnership, we’ve been alongside the club in three divisions. Reaching the elite will allow us to have an even greater reach, leveraging the partnership and generating new revenue, as the club receives a fee for each piece sold.”
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The growth of the sector can also be measured by the contracts signed by clubs with the biggest fans in Brazil. Corinthians recently renewed with Nike until 2035, with figures expected to reach R$59 million per year. Even so, the value is still below Flamengo’s agreement with Adidas, which reaches R$69 million annually. Palmeiras, in turn, receives R$45 million per year from Puma.
Values very distant from Europe
Despite progress and greater competitiveness, experts say that the values are still very far from the numbers practiced by the great powers in Europe. Bruno Brum, CMO of End to End Agency, explains that the discrepancy in values reflects the size of each club’s global market.
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“The big European teams sell shirts all over the world, with production in several locations, while here we are restricted to the domestic market and have some difficulties with distribution. Brazilian football has improved a lot in recent years, values have risen as a whole, but the sporting equipment supply sector still has difficulties reaching the level that other revenues and services have already reached in the country”, he details.
The numbers reinforce the distance. This year, Barcelona signed one of the biggest sports equipment deals in history with Nike, receiving the equivalent of R$802 million per season. Real Madrid comes close behind, with R$758 million annually from Adidas. Manchester City and Manchester United easily surpass the R$600 million mark, while Tottenham appears in the Top 10 with R$221 million per year paid by Nike, a value that is already much higher than the biggest contracts in Brazil.
The scenario repeats between selections. In December 2024, CBF renewed its contract with Nike until 2038, with a fixed value of R$608 million per year. Royalties and bonuses can increase the total to close to R$900 million annually. The figures are equal to those renewed by the German and French teams, who signed for the same US$100 million per year.
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For Fábio Wolff, managing partner of Wolff Sports, Brazilian evolution is not accidental. He recalls that, for decades, football teams’ contracts with sports equipment players did not match the size of the teams. “As time went by and the clubs’ brands became even more valuable, and competition intensified, these agreements began to reproduce the size of the associations with more compatibility. Football clubs, currently, have reached the pinnacle of contracts for the supply of sporting equipment, following the trend that other giant entities have done recently, such as the German Federation, French Federation and CBF”, he says.
The set of movements highlights a market in transformation, more dynamic and aware of its own commercial strength. The distance to Europe is still large, but the pace of growth indicates that sporting equipment has consolidated itself as one of the main sources of revenue for Brazilian clubs. For many of them, 2026 will be the beginning of a new phase.
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