Soccer Boom: Corporate Money For Soccer Soaring By Billions

The business of soccer, or football as it is known to the rest of the world, attracted nearly $4.5 billion in global sponsorships in 2012--two-thirds greater than in 2011, according to the World Sponsorship Monitor.

While other forms of marketing have been struggling, business is booming for companies working with soccer clubs.

"It's not that soccer is immune to economic downturns. It's that the market has opened up because of the age of technology," says Tony Knopp, CEO and Co-Founder of SpotlightTMS, a ticket management company that manages ticket distribution for corporations and sports teams. "As a fan, whether you are in North or South America, the sport has become easier to consume. You are no longer dependent on having to go to your local pub to watch your favorite team."

Last year, English Premier League (EPL) club Arsenal extended their kit and stadium sponsorship deal for £30 million ($45,477,000) while La Liga's Real Madrid sold their jersey space for €30m ($39,096,000).

Meanwhile, General Motors' Chevrolet paid EPL's Manchester United $659 million for jersey sponsorship rights, double of what current sponsor, Aon, was paying the club. Chevy's investment smashed the previous sponsorship record, set by the Qatar Foundations, who is paying Barcelona $39.1 million year for the club to bear their name on their chest.

Not wanting to fall behind, Aon came to terms with Man U to buy up the sponsorship rights to the clubs training ground, training shirts, and overseas tours.

"When we started the first partnership people didn't recognize our name," said Phil Clement, the global chief marketing officer for Aon to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). "We still want to drive our brand but we've hit the awareness goal. Now we want to use the relationship with Manchester United to better engage with our clients."

While some fear the soccer sponsorship market will crash sooner rather than later, soccer clubs should expect the money boom to continue when you take into account that North and South American are still growing markets despite the fact that a tournament like the Champions League final draws close 200 million viewers worldwide.

"There are still new markets to go for," said Julie Clark, head of PwC's UK sports practice. "There isn't any evidence that it's reached the peak yet."

NBCUniversal is counting on this growth, having paid an estimated $250 million for a three-year deal to air EPL games, $23 million more per year than what Fox Sports paid on its current deal.

NBC will air 154 games on NBC Sports Network, 22 games on other NBC Universal channels, 20 games on NBC, and 76 Spanish-language broadcasts on Telemundo (10) and Mun2 (66). Broadcasts will not be limited to televisions platforms.

"NBC plans to use an app where fans can watch games on-demand," says Eric Smallwood, senior vice president of FrontRow Marketing Services and FrontRow Analytics, a Comcast-Spectacor Subsidiary (note: Comcast owns NBC Universal). "NBC plans to televise every game on every platform. They're not limiting themselves to just one channel. We will see an influx of viewers outside and give exposure to teams outside of Chelsea, Man City, Manchester United."

Smallwood also believes that NBC's EPL broadcast agreement can be a major boon for Major League Soccer (MLS), as well, and help grow the sport in the United States.

"The EPL deal won't cannibalize Major League Soccer. In fact, it will compliment the league, creating more interest," says Smallwood. "This helps MLS. They fit in nicely with the EPL and will catapult MLS's exposure to a bigger audience. Just look at the deal between Manchester City and the New York Yankees."