Spending a large part of the 2017/18 season on the sidelines through injury has done little damage to football superstar Neymar’s status in the sport.
According to sponsorship intelligence tool Hookit, Neymar has amassed a social media following of 200 million fans and that number continues to climb by around 2.5 million every month.
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It’s no wonder that Neymar attracts some of the biggest brands on the planet, given the amount of exposure that he can provide. Data provided by Hookit revealed that Neymar had made 872 social media posts between May 2017 and May 2018. These posts generated 1.3 billion interactions and video views, or approximately 1.5 million likes, shares, comments and views per post.
With Neymar expected to star for Brazil at the 2018 FIFA World Cup this summer, these are the companies hoping that he will live up to expectations in Russia, and the lucrative amounts that he makes from his football career.
Neymar sponsorship deals
As one of the most talented footballers on the planet, Neymar has attracted plenty of big brands over the years.
He doesn’t quite boast the earning potential of Cristiano Ronaldo, who made $35m from endorsements in 2017. However, his status as the poster boy for Brazilian football means that he is never short of offers, both in his home nation and abroad.
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By GlobalDataTo date, Neymar has signed a total of 39 deals across 26 industries, including airlines, fashion brands and oil companies. That is according to sports market intelligence company Sportcal.
The lucrative
Gillette
Total earnings: $15m+
Neymar was confirmed as the new ambassador for shaving product brand Gillette in Latin America in 2015.
Speaking at an event organised by the brand at Barcelona’s Nou Camp stadium, Neymar said:
“I have always liked looking after myself and creating new styles for myself.
“Gillette is a brand that is known for its precision and always looks for the best, something that I look for in my game.”
In reality, rather than the brand’s status, it was likely the money offered that turned Neymar’s head. According to Sportcal, Neymar earns between $5m and $8m annually in a deal that will run until 2019.
Beats Electronics
Total earnings: $20m+
Beats Electronics, created by veteran rapper Dr Dre, is better known for collaborating with popular musicians. The likes of Pharrell Williams, P Diddy and Justin Bieber have all teamed up with the Apple-owned brand.
However, the brand has also partnered with a number of sports stars, such as basketballer LeBron James and tennis icon Serena Williams. According to Sportcal, Beats has sponsored a total of 19 organisations, clubs and players over the years, with Neymar among them.
Beats pays $5m to $8m annually to serve as Neymar’s official sponsor. Neymar will star in Beats advertising campaigns for the foreseeable future.
And the unusual
Tenys Pé
Total earnings: N/A
Given the time that Neymar spends running around the pitch and training field, we can only imagine that his feet get hot and sweaty just like the rest of us. However, as somebody that relies heavily on being stylish and cool to add an extra few million to his earnings, you wouldn’t think that Neymar would want to be associated with a product that tackles smelly feet.
We can only assume that Tenys Pé, a foot deodorant manufacturer, paid him well. In exchange, Neymar had his name and face slapped on a bottle of antiseptic foot deodorant.
But given the deal was agreed in 2011, before Neymar agreed his move to Barcelona and took to the European stage, it probably wasn’t as valuable as you might think.
Tenys pé do Neymar: vergonha alheia não inclusa. pic.twitter.com/NBkFdvXZat
— Killer Queen ? (@KilaKonigin) February 23, 2016
Baterias Heliar
Total earnings: $10m+
This one demonstrates Neymar’s god-like status in Brazil, where all kinds of brands are willing to pay out millions each year to put his name on their products, star in their adverts or attend their events, regardless of whether he is in any way relevant to their industry.
Among his sponsors is Baterias Heliar, Brazil’s leading car battery brand, which pays between $2.5m and $4m annually.
Speaking on the deal, Baterias Heliar’s marketing manager José Ranieri said:
“Neymar is synonymous with energy, stamina, quick games, surprising starts: everything to do with Heliar.”
What do Neymar’s sponsors get in return?
It may seem like a lot of money, but Neymar still proves good value.
According to Hookit, a single sponsored post on one of Neymar’s social media profiles drives approximately $600,000 in value for that brand. In the 12 months between May 2017 and May 2018, Neymar posted 14 Beats Electronics sponsored posts, while Gillette received 14 posts, so the numbers add up.
NIKE seemingly gets the most of out of sponsoring the Brazilian forward. Neymar posted 177 sponsored posts for Nike in the same period, which generated $195m in value for the sportswear brand. While the amount that Neymar gets paid by Nike is unconfirmed, given the brand’s highest-earners receive $30m annually, the deal offers at least $165m in profit.
Sponsorship vs sport: how does Neymar earn most of his money?
Despite emerging as a future star at Brazilian club Santos, Neymar didn’t enter the ranks of sport’s top-earners until 2013, when he signed for La Liga club Barcelona.
According to Forbes’ World’s Highest Paid Athletes list, Neymar became the 68th best-paid athlete in the world that year with earnings of $20.5m. By the following year, his earnings had climbed to $17.6m as global sponsors started to target Barcelona’s new star.
In 2014 he earned $33.6m, $16m of which came from endorsements. That was up 60% on the following year.
By 2015, Neymar was earning more from endorsements than he was from playing for Barcelona. His endorsement earnings climbed to $17m, while his earnings from sport fell to $14m from $17.6m.
That has continued to be the case. Neymar also earned more than half of his money from endorsements each year since. In 2017, Forbes reported that he made $37m, making him the 13th highest-earning athlete in the world. Of that, $15m came from wages and winnings, while $22m was from endorsements.
According to Forbes, Neymar made $71.6m from sport and $88m from sponsorship between 2013 and 2017.
Whether that will still be the case in 2018 is another matter. Neymar joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2017 in a €222m deal which made him the most expensive player in football’s history. He likely received a bump in wages to reflect that.
According to documents published by Football Leaks, Neymar became the second best-paid player in the sport. He is paid €36.8m ($43m) annually by PSG. He saw his weekly wage rise from €300,000 at Barcelona to more than €700,000.
Neymar net worth: How much has he made so far?
Neymar has been earning upwards of $30m each year since 2014.
Neymar has made $71.6m from sport and $88m from sponsorship between 2013 and 2017, and that is only from the deals that have been reported.
Aside from football and sponsorship deals, Neymar also earns money through his media career and business projects. For example, Neymar appeared in 2017 action film xXx: Return of Xander Cage, which likely earned him a small fortune. Likewise, he has his own line of emojis. These are available for iOS users via the app store. The Neymoji app costs $0.79 to download.
Despite Neymar’s flashy lifestyle, estimates suggest that he has managed to hold on to much of his fortune.
Celebrity Net Worth estimates Neymar’s net worth at $140m, as reported by the Daily Mail.
