Microsoft on Tuesday will announce a new sponsorship deal with Real Madrid, the world’s most valuable and richest sports franchise.
The soccer club will host a news conference tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. PT to discuss the deal. Forbes reports that the partnership is around $30 million over four years.
While this might not be as lucrative as its $400 million deal with the NFL, it’s still a key deal for Microsoft, which posted a video teasing the new partnership here. Real Madrid has millions of fans and followers — nearly 78 million likes on the team’s Facebook page — with analysts valuing the team at $3.44 billion. The club, which generated $675 million in revenue during the 2012-13 season, already has annual deals with Adidas ($41 million/year) and Emirates ($39 million/year).
As far as what will come out of the partnership, you can probably expect something similar to what Microsoft is doing with the NFL. For example, the software giant designed a custom-built Surface Pro 2 tablet for players and coaches to use during games. Microsoft is also advertising its products heavily during games on TV, while also beefing up NFL content available on its Xbox One.
This is not Microsoft’s first partnership with a soccer club. The Seattle Sounders have sported “Xbox” on their jerseys since the club entered Major League Soccer in 2009, but that contract is up after this season.
To be clear, you won’t see “Microsoft” across Real Madrid jerseys next season, as Emirates has that sponsorship secured until 2018.
