Chapter 134: 3 Years, 9 Million Euros? Who Are They Underestimating with This Sponsorship Contract?
Upon learning that Lin Quan had returned to Germany, Pérez rushed from Spain to meet him.
The quick response from Pérez made Lin Quan realize that this could indeed be a significant contract.
"Pérez, what kind of contract is it?"
"Take a look first, and we'll discuss as you read."
Pérez poured himself a glass of water, finished it in one gulp, and then began:
"The contract with Bayern is almost finalized, and Adidas, being Bayern's sponsor, has been eyeing you for a while. They were interested in signing you early on.
But previously, you only had some reputation in the Bundesliga, and your influence in the entire football world was relatively limited. So Adidas didn't pay much attention to you; their contract offer lacked sincerity and was rejected by me."
"Why are they starting to take notice of me, a 'no-name' player, this time?"
Lin Quan closed the contract in his hand and smiled at Pérez.
"Well, firstly, your performance in the Bundesliga has been getting better and better, proving that you're not just a flash in the pan.
Secondly, you've gradually established yourself in the national team, even hinting at becoming a core player for the next generation of the Spanish national team.
As long as nothing unexpected happens, you'll definitely have a place in the football world.
Adidas might have been observing before, but now they can't sit still.
If they don't act now, they might miss out on you, the future star, when other competitors approach you."
Lin Quan nodded. There were many giants in the sports brand industry.
Adidas wasn't the strongest, but because their headquarters were in Germany, they noticed him first.
As his reputation in football grew, there would undoubtedly be many sponsors seeking cooperation actively.
Players like Ronaldo and Messi, at their level, have sponsors actively seeking collaboration, rather than the other way around.
"Adidas's offer is quite sincere. They've offered a contract of 9 million euros over 3 years.
If you sign with them, they'll use their connections in European football to help you compete for this year's Golden Boy Award."
Pérez was clearly tempted by this contract. Considering that Ronaldo's current contract was only 24 million euros over 4 years, Lin Quan, as a newcomer, getting such a contract was already very good.
But Pérez's words didn't impress Lin Quan.
Ronaldo's current contract was indeed not significant, but he signed it three years ago, and his contract with Nike expires next year.
By then, Nike would undoubtedly significantly increase the renewal amount.
If he remembered correctly, Ronaldo's next contract would be a massive one, worth up to 50 million euros over 5 years.
In other words, starting next year, Ronaldo could receive at least 9 million euros annually from Nike.
At this time, Adidas was offering him a 9 million euros contract over 3 years. Wasn't this an insult?
"I reject Adidas's offer!"
Lin Quan didn't have much affection for Adidas, not to mention the disgusting things they did in the future.
Just considering their offer itself, Lin Quan felt it was an insult to him.
Neymar's contract with Nike in 2011 was 4.5 million euros per year. This was when Neymar hadn't yet played in the top five leagues; it was just after he started shining in the Brazilian league.
After Neymar joined the top five leagues, his contract amount would probably be on par with Messi and Ronaldo.
Now it's 2013, and Adidas's contract offer to Lin Quan was even lower than what Nike offered Neymar two years ago.
How disrespectful!
"Uh? Lin, are you dissatisfied with the contract amount?"
Pérez thought Lin Quan would agree to the offer, but he didn't expect a straightforward rejection.
So he asked.
"Pérez, do you think this contract amount is a lot?"
Pérez thought for a moment and said:
"For an ordinary player, getting such a contract before the age of 20 would be considered a big one."
"Do you think I'm an ordinary player?"
Lin Quan smiled and asked.
Pérez was taken aback for a moment, then immediately realized.
"Hehe, I overlooked it. With the strength you've shown now, I think getting four to five million euros a year is more appropriate!"
Considering that Ronaldo currently only gets 6 million euros annually, Pérez didn't mention too high a price. It's also unlikely that sponsors would directly offer Lin Quan a fee comparable to Ronaldo and Messi's.
But considering Lin Quan's immense potential, offering him four to five million euros annually wasn't unreasonable.
It all depended on whether these sponsors were willing to bet on his potential!
Seeing that the other party understood his meaning, Lin Quan smiled and said:
"We don't need to rush. There's still over three months until the summer transfer window. Once I've decided on my next club, negotiating with sponsors will give us more leverage."
Pérez nodded. Stars from smaller clubs were definitely not as valuable in terms of commercial value as those from top clubs.
So when dealing with these two types of players, sponsors preferred to offer bigger contracts to the latter.
This was also why top stars preferred to move to top clubs.
Top clubs not only offered higher wages and commercial income but also had a higher chance of success, which meant both fame and money.
"Besides this contract, there are a few smaller ones that aren't related to sports. I brought them along as well. Would you like to take a look?"
Pérez brought these smaller contracts with a somewhat indifferent attitude, thinking that the largest one would go through. But since that one fell through, only these smaller ones remained.
Lin Quan glanced at them. These contracts covered a wide range of areas.
There were fast food chains like McDonald's and local restaurants, carbonated drinks like Pepsi and Coca-Cola, and even shampoo brands like Head & Shoulders and Clear. Lin Quan even saw a sponsorship advertisement for Durex.
And surprisingly, Durex was offering quite a lot...
Nuremberg, Adidas Headquarters.
"What? He rejected our offer?"
Jimmy, Adidas's sports marketing director, couldn't believe it when he learned that Lin Quan's agent rejected their offer.
"Yes, they seem dissatisfied with our contract offer."
"Haha, 9 million euros over three years, which player under 20 can get such a high sponsorship fee?"
Jimmy sneered. Did this guy really think he was Messi or Ronaldo?
"So, should we continue to contact them?"
The assistant thought Jimmy meant to give up signing Lin Quan.
"Suspend contact for now. Let them cool down."
The assistant nodded, preparing to leave the office.
"Have any other brands contacted them recently?"
Jimmy seemed to have thought of something and suddenly asked.
"We haven't found other sports brands, but there are quite a few other brands seeking their endorsement."
Jimmy nodded indifferently. "As long as it's not Nike trying to poach him, track his contacts with other sports brands closely. If there are no third parties involved, we'll stick to our contract offer!"
"Then what if a third party gets involved?"
"Well, then we adjust our offer based on what the competition offers. In short, we don't tolerate players' extortion!"
Jimmy Dano appeared confident, believing that ultimately it would be the player who would compromise first.
Adidas has always been very arrogant.
With them holding the upper hand, expecting them to make concessions was impossible.
Moreover, their players have always earned slightly less in sponsorship fees than those under Nike.
The reason is simple: Adidas has more influence in European football than Nike.
Players signed with Adidas receive more intangible benefits, which money cannot directly measure.
...
Adidas wasn't in a hurry, and neither was Lin Quan.
After playing their away game against Mainz over the weekend, Lin Quan found time to shoot his first commercial.
This was an endorsement for KFC, and the shoot was simple, taking only about half an hour to complete.
The endorsement fee from KFC wasn't high, just fifty thousand euros a year.
Though the price wasn't high, the task was easy, requiring only a few ads to be filmed.
Besides, KFC's hamburgers were good, and Lin Quan occasionally indulged in them.
After shooting their ads, he could enjoy certain privileges, such as free hamburgers from the brand he endorsed.
Additionally, on "Crazy Thursdays," KFC stores would offer him various benefits.
However, for a professional athlete, fried food isn't healthy. He could eat, but only a little.
Eating once or twice a week is fine, but eating more can lead to weight gain and health issues.
...
On April 6th, in the 28th round of the Bundesliga, Werder Bremen hosted Schalke 04 at home.
There hadn't been much animosity between the two teams before, but when Werder Bremen visited Veltins-Arena last year, there was a very unpleasant experience.
Schalke's player Noyster's foul on Debravine caused Werder Bremen's midfield core to miss almost a month of matches.
During this time, Werder Bremen had to rely on Lin Quan's single-core leadership to play matches.
In addition to the opposing players' bad behavior on the field, the various restrictions Schalke placed on Werder Bremen's fans at home also made Werder Bremen very unhappy.
So, this time Werder Bremen followed suit.
Of the more than 50,000 home tickets, they only gave Schalke 2,000 tickets.
With over ten thousand Schalke fans traveling with the team, only one-fifth were able to buy tickets to enter the Weserstadion to watch the match.
Schalke's fans were very dissatisfied with this, gathering outside the Weserstadion to protest.
Werder Bremen ignored their protests outright. After all, it was you who started it first.
We're just returning the favor. If you blame anyone, blame yourselves!
"I don't need to motivate you guys much for this game, right?"
In the locker room, Coach Shaf glanced at the team members, seeing each face filled with determination.
This made him very satisfied!
"No need to say, crush Schalke!"
"Yes, destroy them!"
"Strive to score double and give them a disaster!"
Werder Bremen's players were full of morale, wishing they could tear Schalke 04 apart.
Such a strong spirit of fighting and hatred is rarely seen even in the Northern Derby against Hamburg.
This shows that Schalke has really thoroughly enraged them!
...
On the visitors' side, Schalke's coach was also rallying his team.
"We need to rank sixth in the standings, six points behind Leverkusen.
If we can't beat Werder Bremen away, then our gap with Leverkusen might widen further!"
"Can you accept the result of playing without the Champions League next season?"
With red eyes, Schalke's players shouted loudly:
"No, we can't accept it!"
"Okay, then on the field, prove your determination with your actions!"
So, both teams left the locker room with the confidence to win and arrived at the player tunnel.
Though the players of both sides were less than a meter apart, they treated each other as if they were air.
Ignoring each other completely, they pretended the other didn't exist.
The referee team exchanged glances, sensing the strong smell of gunpowder between the two teams!
It seems the standard of refereeing for this match will have to be tighter. Otherwise, with the hostility between the two teams, there might be injuries in this match.
As the players entered the field, Werder Bremen's fans cheered for their team, applauding and cheering for them.
But when it was the visiting team's turn to come out, they were greeted only with boos.
Though the Weserstadion wasn't as luxurious as the Veltins-Arena, the atmosphere here was no less.
The match hadn't even started, but Schalke's players already sensed that this match would be very difficult.
At 3:30 in the afternoon, with the referee's whistle, the match officially began.
There was no probing between the two teams; they started attacking in the first minute of the match.
In this match, Werder Bremen played without any burden. In their eyes, there was only attack, attack, and more attack!
For Werder Bremen, their lead in the standings was significant.
Even if they lost this match, Borussia Dortmund couldn't knock them down from the second position.
Therefore, they could loosen up and go all out, attacking the enemy's goal with all their might.
But for Schalke 04, they couldn't afford to lose this match. Losing would put them in dire straits in the battle for a Champions League spot.
So, in the face of the two sides' onslaught, Schalke 04 buckled first.
They had no choice; the opponent's offense was too terrifying.
Their number ten was like a dribbling machine, almost single-handedly turning Schalke 04's left side upside down.
Their number six was like he'd had too much to drink, constantly sending out penetrating passes, testing their defense line one after another.
In addition to these two huge threats, Werder Bremen's other players were like madmen, madly rushing into their penalty area whenever they had the chance.
This kind of frenetic play, Schalke 04 had never seen before, not even in the Ruhr Derby against Borussia Dortmund!
Madmen, all of them were madmen!
(End of this chapter)