Brazilian soccer heavyweights Flamengo have announced the end of their primary front-of-shirt partnership with sports betting firm Pixbet after four years.
The deal has been mutually terminated after Pixbet reportedly opted out of triggering an extension clause that could have brought the deal through 2027.
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In ending the deal, the club also ends Pixbet’s license to use its branding on its products.
The move strikes a significant blow to Pixbet, which has operated the Flamengo-centric FlaBet wagering brand since the partnership’s inception, a brand which will now be discontinued.
Talks are reportedly ongoing as to whether the deal will be cancelled immediately or whether PixBet branding may remain on Flamengo kits for the remainder of the 2025 campaign.
Pixbet has had a partnership with the club since 2021, initially serving as one of multiple shirt sponsors with its logo featuring on the upper shoulder of the team’s kits, before upgrading its role to that of primary sponsor ahead of the 2024 campaign.
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By GlobalDataThat upgrade came with a record valuation for a Flamengo shirt sponsor of R$85 million ($17.3 million) per year, which at the time was the largest ever sponsorship deal for a Brazilian club.
The prospective extension that has now been cancelled would have increased the sponsorship fee to R$125 million per season, which would be the most ever for a sponsorship deal in the country.
Pixbet is said to have been facing cash flow issues as of late, issues that reportedly affected the business’s ability to pay sponsorship fee installments, which totalled R$30 million each across five installments over 24 months since the last renewal.
Flamengo is the only remaining Brasileirão side with Pixbet as a sponsor, after fellow top-flight club Vasco da Gama terminated the sponsorship agreement early in 2024, replacing Pixbet with rival EstrelaBet.
Flamengo currently occupies top spot in the 2025 Brasileiro table at around halfway through the season, and is likely to qualify for the quarter finals of the continental Copa Libertadores also.
This ensures the team, record 39-time Carioca state champions, seven-time Brasileirao national champions, and three-time winners of the Copa Libertadores (most recently in 2022) will once again command a sponsorship fee that sets it in the upper echelons of Brazilian soccer commercials.
Reports from Brazil suggest Superbet, sponsor of fellow Brazilian giants Sao Paolo and Flamengo's bitter local rivals Fluminense, has tabled a three-year offer that exceeds all others in the country in terms of value.
For comparison, São Paolo’s Superbet contract, the most lucrative in the country at this moment, is worth a total of R$678 million through 2030 on a progressive payment structure that will rise to as much as R$140 million per season by the end of the 2030 campaign.
That Flamengo’s prospective contract with Superbet could exceed R$140 million demonstrates not just the commercial profile of Flamengo, but the value the sports sponsorship market holds for Brazilian betting businesses.
In July, Sergio Floris, managing director for Brazil for sports technology heavyweight Sportradar, spoke to Sportcal (GlobalData Sport) to discuss the present and future of Brazil’s nascent sports betting sponsorship landscape.
On the boom in Brazilian sports sponsorship values, he commented: “The sharp rise in shirt sponsorship values from betting companies in Brazil’s Série A is a direct result of the booming sports betting industry and its transition toward formal regulation. The strong demand in the country has pushed operators to invest heavily in brand visibility, and club sponsorships provide a prime opportunity to connect with a passionate fan base.
“Brazilian football’s continued dominance in continental competitions has also enhanced the global appeal of these sponsorships, further driving up their value. Additionally, with relatively few industries competing for front-of-shirt space at the same scale, betting companies have seized the opportunity to establish themselves as key partners.”
