Leeds United stake acquired by Red Bull
Leeds United has inked a new major partnership with Red Bull, which will be the new main new shirt sponsor and will also be a new investor in the football club.
Unlike its F1 team and the other football clubs in the so-called ‘Red Bull Football Group’ – ‘RB’ Leipzig, FC Red Bull Salzburg, and New York Red Bulls – Leeds United told its supporters that the new team-up with Red Bull will not result in any change to the club’s name or logo.
“I am thrilled that Red Bull is joining us to build a bright future for Leeds United and shares our deep respect for this truly special club,” Leeds chair Paraag Marathe said in a statement.
“Red Bull’s addition is a historic milestone that will further empower the club to reach its full competitive potential.”
Under the deal, starting from the upcoming 2024/25 season, Red Bull will be the primary shirt sponsor for Leeds’ mens and womens teams.
It will also be the club’s “exclusive energy drink partner” (meaning the drink will be sold in the Elland Road stadium, and there’ll be in-stadia advertising including ‘during the club’s official media appearances’).
In its statement, Leeds United said the deal ‘brings in new commercial revenues as well as additional capital investment for a minority ownership stake that will further enable the club to compete on and off the pitch’.
The size of Red Bull’s equity investment in the club was not disclosed, nor was there detail regarding Leeds' future ties to the Red Bull Football Group.
It comes as multi-club ownership is becoming a growing trend in the sport, and, as the sport’s administrators seek to scrutinise potential conflicts of interest. Albeit, with Leeds missing out on Premier League promotion after defeat in the Championship playoff final last week, the prospect of a clash with either Leipzig or Salzburg remains a distant and remote possibility.
Leeds United was last year fully acquired by the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers NFL American football franchise, after the American group took an earlier minority stake in 2018.
49ers Enterprises, the vehicle the owns Leeds among other assets, has a number of internal stakeholders including some well-known names – for example, Anchorman actor Will Ferrell was recently revealed to be a ‘part owner’ of Leeds via the 49ers vehicle. Fellow actor Russell Crowe, and golfers Jordan Speith and Justin Thomas are also known to be among the other celebrity stakeholders.
