
<p>When a soccer club signs a huge player, we often assume shirt sales will be a huge financial windfall for the club. But is that really the case? Data <a href="https://sportsjournal.io/premier-league-merchandise-revenue-data/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">suggests</a> that it’s not as large a chunk of club revenue as you might think.</p>



<p>Figures posted at <a href="https://sportsjournal.io/premier-league-merchandise-revenue-data/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Sports Journal</a> reveal the shirt sales revenue for each club in the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/premier-league-tv-schedule/">Premier League</a> from 2022. Being the biggest and most popular club in the world, this is a good reference. Few other leagues or clubs bring in comparable sales in terms of shirts.</p>



<p>For example, <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-united-tv-schedule/">Manchester United</a> led the way in 2022, with £106.1 million in shirt sales ($134.7 million). This was no doubt boosted by Ronaldo’s return to the club in 2021. It sounds like a whole lot of money, and it is.</p>



<p>However, as The Sports Journal indicates, consider the scenario when a team sells 100,000 replicas of a player’s shirt throughout a given season. “The new Liverpool home jersey costs £75 a piece, thus selling the shirt at that price would generate a total revenue of £7.5 million, of which a club would typically receive a 7.5% fee. Therefore, the commission earned by the club on the sale of this player’s shirt would be little over £562,000.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<div class="ck-youtube"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Do shirt sales pay for transfers?" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/T7mYLe61-Tc?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
</div></figure>



<h2>Soccer shirt sales aren’t as big of a impact as you may think</h2>



<p>In the grand scheme of the modern soccer business, it’s almost a drop in the bucket. It’s not even enough to cover the transfer fee of one major player. For example, when United signed Brazilian winger Antony from Ajax in 2022, they paid a $103.7 million transfer fee. In total, they spent over $265 million on transfers in 22/23. And that’s before you even consider paying the regular team wages, which was in the ballpark of $275.1 million for the club.</p>



<p>After you get past the first couple of clubs on the list, the numbers start to slide off significantly. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/liverpool-tv-schedule/">Liverpool</a> and <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/chelsea-tv-schedule/">Chelsea</a> weren’t far behind United, at £94.3 and £92.8 million in shirt sales respectively. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/arsenal-tv-schedule/">Arsenal</a> drove £77.3 million in sales, but after that it’s a cliff. <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/teams/manchester-city-tv-schedule/">Manchester City</a>, who’ve won five of the past six EPL seasons, only made £37.3 million in shirt revenue.</p>



<p>Towards the bottom, it’s almost entirely insignificant. Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Wolves and Norwich all made under £2 million from shirt sales.</p>



<p>It helps to remember that clubs only get a small percentage of the funds when someone buys a shirt. Usually they’ll get a flat sponsorship fee up front from the supplier (Nike, Puma, Adidas, etc.), and then a small cut of each sale (plus all the kits and training gear for the team to actually use). So in reality, it works much like any other sponsor deal a club might have. Popular clubs bring in more lucrative deals, and also sell more shirts. </p>



<p>There are other wrinkles from team to team when it comes to their deals with kit suppliers. But in large part, revenue from kit sales is nothing more than a little extra gravy on top of whatever other income sources are available. TV and media rights being the main course, of course.</p>



<p><em>Photos: Imago</em></p>


When a soccer club signs a huge player, we assume shirt sales will be a huge financial windfall for the club. But is that really the case?

How much soccer clubs earn from shirt sales - World Soccer Talk

How much soccer clubs earn from shirt sales


<p>The new 2023 <a href="https://www.acmilan.com/en" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AC Milan</a> 4th kit has arrived, and it drapes the <a href="https://worldsoccertalk.com/serie-a-tv-schedule/">Serie A</a> giants in pixelated perfection.</p>



<p>A collaboration between the club, Puma and Paris-based fashion label KOCHÉ, the new shirt would be right at home in an early-90s video game.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="725" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20230225_WST_421269_ACM_2.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=725" alt="" class="wp-image-421274" srcset="https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_2-300x181.jpg 300w, https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_2-768x464.jpg 768w, https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_2.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></div><figcaption>Iconic Milan red &amp; black, but with a new twist</figcaption></figure>



<p>It’s interesting that this is a <a href="https://www.gopjn.com/t/TUJGR0pJRkJHR0lMRk1CR0dGSkpL?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldsoccershop.com%2Fshop%2Fdetails%2Fmen-s-replica-puma-ac-milan-koche-fourth-jersey-22-23_A1089505" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">4th kit</a>, but looks so similar to the club’s standard top. Usually 2nd/3rd/4th shirts get a bit crazier the further down the line you go. This is certainly a bold design, but the colors make it unmistakably AC Milan.</p>



<p>The pixelated stripes fade away towards the top of the shirt, and go into a wild pattern towards the bottom (did someone <a href="https://www.pcgamesn.com/wp-content/sites/pcgamesn/2018/12/solitaire.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">win at solitaire</a> on Windows 95?). The pattern continues onto the shorts that pair with the top, an unusual bonus – shorts are usually a solid-colored afterthought. </p>



<p>The team crest and sponsor trimmings are all in gold which is a nice fit for the reigning Serie A champions. The iconic championship Scudetto shield in the center actually takes away just a tiny bit from the visual cohesiveness of the top.</p>



<p>Apparently their is also a tie-in to a real-world video game. Special decals and wheel designs based on the top are coming to Rocket League in March. Per the club this is the first European club football kit to be featured in the game.</p>



<p>The collection also comes with a gold version as the goalkeeper kit:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><div><figure class="image"><img loading="lazy" width="1200" height="725" src="https://ds-images.bolavip.com/news/image?src=https://images.worldsoccertalk.com/webp/WST_20230225_WST_421269_ACM_3.webp&amp;width=1200&amp;height=725" alt="" class="wp-image-421275" srcset="https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_3-300x181.jpg 300w, https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_3-768x464.jpg 768w, https://uploads.futbolsitesnetwork.com/sites/6/2023/02/ACM_3.jpg 1200w" sizes="(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px"></figure></div></figure>



<p>The more subdued gold version is really quite nice as well, perfect if you don’t want to be <em>too</em> loud when out on the town. </p>



<h4>Reviewing the 2023 AC Milan 4th Kit</h4>



<p>The new shirt is a throwback to the early digital age, but fits into today’s world of Minecraft and the “Metaverse” as well. The pairing of the iconic colors and general spirit of the classic AC Milan top with an eccentric pattern is a winner. With different colors, the kind you usually see in 3rd or 4th tops, this kit could easily be downright ugly. But it totally works in red and black. </p>



<p><strong>Grade: A-</strong></p>



<p>The pattern gets a little wonky at the bottom of the shirt, but other than that, this is a cool take on a classic. It’s available at <a href="https://www.gopjn.com/t/TUJGR0pJRkJHR0lMRk1CR0dGSkpL?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.worldsoccershop.com%2Fshop%2Fdetails%2Fmen-s-replica-puma-ac-milan-koche-fourth-jersey-22-23_A1089505">World Soccer Shop</a>, and other retailers.</p>



<p>What do you think about this shirt? 8-bit hit? Or is it game over? Let us know in the comments! </p>


The new 2023 AC Milan 4th kit is a digital-inspired, 8-bit take on the iconic red and black stripes from Puma.

ALL POSTS TAGGED "Soccer Shirts"

Business of Soccer

How much soccer clubs earn from shirt sales

AC Milan

AC Milan 4th kit is an 8-bit hit