All Black jersey to have a sponsor

Just got a wee bit of inside news. The ABs have inked a huge deal with AIG who will become the team's major sponsor and they will get their logo printed on the sleeve.

A sponsor's logo has been done before obviously with Steinlager adorning the jersey in 96-97. Interesting that it's on the sleeve and not the right breast though.

Obviously most Kiwis would rather just have the silver fern (not even the Adidas logo lol) but it was always going to happen again in this day and age. The Aussie league jerseys now look like the drivers' kits in Formula One they have that many sponsors. The sleeve isn't too bad.

Anyways thought that some people would like to know-Kiwis in particular.

I can live with it being on the sleeve I guess. How much is it worth Disney?

No specs on how much the deal is Mintie. Sorry mate. Will see what I can dig up.

I guess it will mean playing games in America and Asia now to generate exposure.

On one hand you can see that NZ has to do something to increase its revenue streams and ability to retain the top players AND invest at grassroots – this was the one card it could play over every other nation. On the other, well I guess we could start to see something close to what Nike originally wanted to do back in the late 90’s which would have seen the All Blacks become something like the Harlem Globetrotters....

Hmmm, that explains the massive Facebook rant that Jed Thian (the Alternate Rugby Commentary guy) did last week about NZRU sell-outs.

Do reveal, KRD please!

No problem for me, the way of the world these days. Hopefully more money to support the game at super/itm level. Doubt it will stop the player drain, but it's gotta help. Hope it's subtle though.

The one main spin off I’d be hopeful of seeing is if NZ play a game at Old Trafford – purely for selfish reasons. Obviously it’s all about convenience for me living 25 mins away but with sharing the same sponsor as Man Utd it could be on the cards. The RFU has blatantly ignored calls to play test rugby up here bar one pitiful game v Argentina which featured virtually no full England internationals so if any team could fill OT, it’d be the AB’s.

I remember the ABs beating England in Old Trafford in 1997. The infamous lap of honour that England made.

I can see sponsors being moved to the front of the jersey but in the form of a motif ie black on black so that it's subtle.

I want to see some games in the islands before the USA. I'd hate to see us become like the Globetrotters. We're a not good enough and b not above the game to do something like that. Though the Yanks are big stats guys so I'm surprised they don't know about the ABs due to their ridiculous win percentage.

I think it's becasue the Americans don't care a lot about rugby. They only really care about 7s. (It's fast paced, usually high scoring) The small steinlager was under the crest was't it? Don't remember it being a big deal so this shouldn't be either.



How are AIG able to sponsor it? Didn't they get bailed out? I know they were close to bankruptcy at one stage!

chewed_mintie wrote:Do reveal, KRD please!

The swear filter will go overboard on this one

Jed Thian (Facebook, 12 June) wrote:
Absolutely gutted and disgusted that the NZRU has done the unthinkable. All that cowpat about the 'dream' was just Poopie talking from a bunch of useless Flips who wouldn't get a job running a late night burger joint. Black people, we've been lied to, scammed and manipulated by a group of soloist, they've screwed the game locally and now I'm afraid we're about the join the ranks of whores. Nice work Hinemoa Street, you Kumquats.

Jed Thian (Facebook, 12 June) wrote:
Can't talk now, about to board a flight back to NZ. But my sources are not ghosts, all I'll say is fair play to them, it's not their fault the bar stewards guarding our game are sluts.

Jed Thian (Facebook, 13 June) wrote:
Apologies all, I won't spill the beans, rather I'll let the spin masters put their tweak on it before the Rugby public of NZ smash them out of the park.

Wowzers.....

chewed_mintie wrote:The one main spin off I’d be hopeful of seeing is if NZ play a game at Old Trafford – purely for selfish reasons. Obviously it’s all about convenience for me living 25 mins away but with sharing the same sponsor as Man Utd it could be on the cards. The RFU has blatantly ignored calls to play test rugby up here bar one pitiful game v Argentina which featured virtually no full England internationals so if any team could fill OT, it’d be the AB’s.

Nice idea, but unfortunately AIG don't sponsor Man Utd anymore. Aon are the current sponsors. AIG had to give it up when they nearly went under a few years ago. Guess they must have got themselves back on their feet after the bailout but I doubt the deal will be worth half as much as the MU one was.

jeffwinger wrote:

chewed_mintie wrote:The one main spin off I’d be hopeful of seeing is if NZ play a game at Old Trafford – purely for selfish reasons. Obviously it’s all about convenience for me living 25 mins away but with sharing the same sponsor as Man Utd it could be on the cards. The RFU has blatantly ignored calls to play test rugby up here bar one pitiful game v Argentina which featured virtually no full England internationals so if any team could fill OT, it’d be the AB’s.

Nice idea, but unfortunately AIG don't sponsor Man Utd anymore. Aon are the current sponsors. AIG had to give it up when they nearly went under a few years ago. Guess they must have got themselves back on their feet after the bailout but I doubt the deal will be worth half as much as the MU one was.

D'oh!

Kiwireddevil wrote:Hmmm, that explains the massive Facebook rant that Jed Thian (the Alternate Rugby Commentary guy) did last week about NZRU sell-outs.

Sorry, but Jed Thian criticise someone esle about be the sell out?

Is Jed Thian very popular in France?

Jed Thian sounds like a clown, how are you supposed to fund a team like the ABs, sausage sizzles?

Never underestimate the power of a good sausage sizzle EBOP. Though if they use any tomato sauce other than Watties they're f*cked.

So, who here is a Brand specialist? What sort of money do we think this deal is worth? I’d say, for the exclusivity that this deal gives (bar the adidas logo), given the strength of the AB brand globally and also sales of the jersey are on a global rather than confined purely to NZ, I would feel this deal would be worth at least what adidas pay as a minimum, which according to the National Business Review ( as quoted by NY Times) is on par with Inter Milan and Bayern Munich at between $NZ 21-28m per year (http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/25/sports/rugby/adidas-angers-all-blacks-fans-with-price-policy.html?pagewanted=all)

But I’m no expert on these matters.....what is everyone else thinking?

When AIG pulled out of their Man Utd deal 3 years ago, it was worth about US$19million per season (~NZ$25m), having come down a bit from when the deal was signed due to exchange rates. I would be massively surprised if their deal with the ABs was worth more than half of this. The ABs are big, but Man U are simply huge. They are the biggest sports team in he world, in financial and commercial terms.

The difference between sponsors and kit manufacturers is that the manufacturers can directly recoup costs from replica kit sales as well as advertising their brand, whereas sponsors are merely paying for advertising space. Therefore the figures you have quoted about Adidas are probably not particularly relevant.

As a more relevant comparison, O2 renewed their deal with the England rugby team earlier this year, which is thought to be worth £25-30million over 4 years (~NZ$12m a year). Are the ABs worth more or less commercially than England? England have a far larger population to draw from, but the supporter base is probably similar while I'd guess the ABs are bigger internationally. It'll probably be quite similar to the England deal.

Interesting question-England's population is roughly 50 million-roughly 11 times that of NZ but obviously football dominates. Wondering if more NZ or England rugby shirts are sold worldwide-NZ's international appeal vs England's population.

I'd really guess New Zealand..... or that might just be the black versions of the Welsh and English kits I've been seeing in recent years

When I went to Sweden to play, I thought it was crazy that almost everyone seemed to have a pretty new NZ jersey, within 2 seasons of the current if not that seasons. In smaller countries they really are THE team that people want to watch and follow. There were of course other national and club jerseys but it seemed to me that the All Black one was like mandatory.

This may be out of date as its from 2010 but the top 5 deals are all still current:
http://karllusbec.wordpress.com/2010/12/14/football-clubs-most-profitable-shirt-sponsorship-deals/

I cant imagine the AB's deal getting close to the big Footie deals as the game is nowhere near as globally popular but they can probably expect something similar to England rugbys deal.

AIG worth USD55 Billion despite get the bail out recent. They make fiddle the books this year by tricky accounting so have a lot of the cash to vacate. Could be worth a lot if is true.

Have we had any updates on this? I would imagine the NZRFU and any potential sponsor would be keen to make the annoucement before the Ruggby Championship starts?

Well I'm not going to call them the All Blacks anymore. When the sponsor comes they'll be the 'nearly all blacks' or NABs for short.

profitius wrote:Well I'm not going to call them the All Blacks anymore. When the sponsor comes they'll be the 'nearly all blacks' or NABs for short.

bit pedantic, did you not call them the non all blacks when they had the steinlager logo on their top in the 90's?

Plus the silver fern is what it says-silver...

No updates yet Mintie. Will let you know if I hear any more mate.

Does this meaning England will be get the AIG sponsor for the next world cup?

As long as the logo stays on the jersey...

Now here's an impressive rant on the subject

http://cargocollective.com/alternativerugbycommentary#Jedi-s-Blog

He makes a good point about the NZRU not doing a great job of generating revenue, but the rest of it is just rambling nonsense.

It's just the way things are at the end of the day and NZ rugby will continue to handicap itself if they don't do it.

To be honest I didn't mind the Steinlager logo on it in the late 90s. Anything more than that and there'd be hell to pay though. However the info I got was that AIG was going to put it on the sleeve.

So long as the logo´s black and on the sleeve, I don't mind!

If it means extra revenue then so be it. So long as we don't go down the road of turning into a F1 advertising board then these are the realities of the professional era.

Why would anyone have a problem with a sponsor or sponsors on a jersey?? It's an easy way to make money. I wouldn't particularly care if the Leinster or Ireland jersey was plastered in sponsors, if it meant we'd have more money to improve facilities and develop our talent better. To the people who are against this; have you heard that the game went professional in 1995?

And there are far worse trends in rugby jerseys for us to worry about than a little logo.

Spoiler:

I think the allblacks have to do this, they cant whinge they have no money but pass up these opportunities

Feckless Rogue wrote:Why would anyone have a problem with a sponsor or sponsors on a jersey??

I can say Feckless Rogue answer is about the same problem when ENG wear the black jersey in RWC and there was discuss about why some NZ fans get a bit wry smile on it! Because my time in NZ i learning that is some special respect to the black shirt and symbolise somthing about integrity and continuity the spirit as represent in the Haka also. Black jersey and Haka together some pillars of integrity and there is some feeling that put on there the logo is a bit sell out on this integrity.

I don't say I agree with this romantics idea, but I think there is the point for the people who dont wanting this sponsor or suspicious about it.

That's some thought gone into the black jersey for a supposed neutral there AWOC. You are going to lead people to believe you are an All Blacks fan. It's England, Spain and Portugal you support right?

Of course, of course. Where is it you have been again? Oh yeah, you moved from NZ to Eng right? Sorry, but not all Welsh live in a cave. Only some believe it or not!

What is with the monkey? Are you making some neanderthal-like joke of me?

I have made many travels Morgannwg and learned many things from many different culture.

I am not learning many things I like from you though.

Maybe you can stop this childish and we can discussing rugby please?

I think the All Blacks is one of the strongest brands in sport and certainly rugby. Although most top teams have their symbolic unofficial names, the Blacks stands out for me. However how they translate that to $ is a tricky one as they are limited to merchandising.
So to stick a logo on it could, as our transylvanian friend suggests, actually dilute the brand and make the All Black brand less marketable. Bit of a catch 22 situation.
As for integrity and the brand i think someone is having a laugh!

anotherworldofpain wrote:I have made many travels Morgannwg and learned many things from many different culture.

I am not learning many things I like from you though.

Maybe you can stop this childish and we can discussing rugby please?

AWOP whilst i fully respect your right to murder the English language which is no doubt enshrined in the Human Right Act I am afraid i understand the concern that yoru 'translations' are often pure rhetorical comedy and i do sympathise with the suggestions that you might actually be an ethereal apparition of a former member on the permanent WU. I think you might be able to dispel some of this mockery if you revealed a bit about yourself. i have asked you before what is your nationality and first language?

I am born Welsh and live in LA, I speak English.

et toi?

anotherworldofpain wrote:I have made many travels Morgannwg and learned many things from many different culture.

I am not learning many things I like from you though.

Maybe you can stop this childish and we can discussing rugby please?

I don't discuss rugby with people who constantly put in sly digs against NH rugby. Plus the 'neutral' and broken english act is awfully tedious. As for the All Black jersey situation, I will have to agree fully with Mowgli.

What is your opinion about sponsorship to the all blacks jersey? which is the topic after all.

Do you understand why they dont want plaster the jersey with sponsors and the delimmas it makes for get the revenue?

Awop do you own an all black shirt- and would it stop you from buying one if it had a sponser?

I actually just pointed out that I fully agree with Mowgli, and others, in saying that the 'all black' symbolises New Zealand rugby. NZ happen to be the best and most successful rugby team in the world, so the All Black jersey is synonymous with the greatest team and people and fans everywhere would hate to see that taken away. It's a perfect example of the money men ruining sport and perhaps another foundation for rugby taking a step towards becoming like the French Top 14. I hope not, and I doubt it will. Also, the All Blacks are a big brand so I do not see why they need a big sponsorship deal? Does NZ grassroots need the cash? If it goes through how about just put it on the awful looking away jersey and have the team wear it once or twice per season. The only thing that I agree with being added to the All Blacks jersey is the poppy on the sleeve.

mogs by only playing in a sponsered shirt once or twice a year isnt gonna bring any revenue.. its pointless

yes grass roots does need money to keep going- NZ rugby runs domestic losses as we all know.

The fact that they are a big brand and the fact that there are the biggest means they can make masses out of a sponsership deal- but they would have to wear that logo all the time

I would like to hear from a Kiwi on whether grass roots investment is an issue in NZ...my understanding is that rugby is the most significant sport in NZ and that it has no issues with uptake at youth level...but what sort of money comes in?

Frankly i do not think the NZRFU are thinking about grass roots investment when they consider sponsorship of the ABs because they know every kid wants to be an AB....I think they are thinking of their beach houses.

mowgi- i think it has been made very clear from during last years world cup that NZ are in big trouble finacially- they support domestic losses with international profits and have had to go to the IRB for more money or they threatened to stop taking part in world cups...

I have been making the point that what they are doing is cheating a system in a way- they are paying out at a grass roots and domestic level to retain there status without actually making the money for it. If they were forced to fall in line they would end up losing out at the grass roots and the domestioc levels and it could impact on there international quality.

Its about maintaining what they are doing - but making up the shortfall they have experienced- that is why they have to comprimise, yeah they still all wanna get paid the same as before, but the way things are run its either get more money or cut spending