Emirates Airline Settles For Lower-Tier Bayern Munich Deal

According to German media, Emirates Airline has agreed to a lower-tier sponsorship deal with Bayern Munich after losing out on a lucrative shirt sponsorship deal with the German football giant.

Under a seven year deal, the Dubai-based carrier will become a platinum partner of the Bundesliga’s giant.  The deal, which will run through 2032, is reportedly in the region of US$5.7m annually.

Emirates will become the German champions platinum partner, joining the likes of Betano, Bitpanda, EA Sports, Einhell, Paulaner, Visit Rwanda, Schwarz Digits, Viessmann, and Volksbank Raiffeisenbank. They sit below top-tier partners Adidas, Deutsche Telekom, Audi, and Allianz.

The deal represents a shift in Emirates’ European football sponsorship strategy as the airline typically only strikes major shirt or stadium naming rights deals.

It has shirt sponsorship deals with Real Madrid, Arsenal, AC Milan, and Benfica, and has also put its name to Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium.

Despite several months of intense negotiations with the German giant, Emirates had to settle for a lower-tier sponsorship as Deutsche Telekom are believed to have significantly upped their shirt sponsorship deal by 30% to US$75.1m per season as they renew their deal till 2032.   

The German club previously had a partnership with Qatar Airways between 2018 and 2023, but severed ties with the carrier after pressure from fans, who voiced their anger about the club being sponsored by a country facing allegations of human rights violations, including LGBTQ rights and the treatment of migrant workers.

According to ASN data, Emirates (19%, ~US$76.1m) is the 3^rd  largest spender for its category in the Asian sponsorship landscape since Q322, with an average quarterly investment of almost US$6.7m during this period.  Besides a blockbuster deal with Real Madrid for the Pan-Asian region worth US$15.3m, it has also historically invested in tennis, rugby and cricket.