Mary Fowler Signs a Reported $10 Million Five-Year Adidas Deal After a Bidding War With Nike and New Balance

Manchester City and Matildas forward Mary Fowler has signed a reported $10 million five year deal with Adidas, one of the most lucrative sponsorship contracts ever signed by a female footballer, following a bidding war between Adidas, Nike, and New Balance. Adidas has not officially confirmed the deal as of publication.

Beyond the pitch

The deal was not won on footballing credentials alone. Fowler, 23, became the first women’s professional footballer to walk at Paris Fashion Week, a moment her agent cited as the catalyst that turned a standard sponsorship conversation into a competitive bidding war. Brands were pursuing a cultural figure, not just a footballer.

Her commercial portfolio already includes L’Oréal Paris, and her profile has grown steadily through the 2023 FIFA World Cup, the Matildas’ recent Asian Cup final run, and Manchester City’s WSL title charge, all despite returning from an ACL injury earlier this year.

Adidas’s women’s football roster

The reported signing places Fowler alongside Aitana Bonmatí and Trinity Rodman on Adidas’s women’s football roster, arguably the most commercially aggressive lineup in the women’s game. With the 2027 FIFA Women’s World Cup approaching, Adidas is building early around athletes who carry crossover appeal well beyond match day.

Chloe Kelly is also reported to be close to signing with the brand, which would further consolidate Adidas’s position in women’s football ahead of the tournament.