Wrexham’s US tour frenzy proves £10m Firefox deal is a cut price as Americans ditch Prem giants
The United States has officially gone Wrexham mad – and Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac are proving that their £10million Firefox deal was worth every single penny. The Red Dragons kicked off their summer kit launch by taking over New York’s Times Square and ringing the famous Nasdaq bell in a Hollywood flex that proved North Wales’ finest are now stock market royalty.
It was Wrexham’s third summer invasion of the States in four years, and Reynolds’ army made sure North America knew they were back in town.
Riding high on the back of the post-World Cup hype sweeping the US, the Championship upstarts immediately smashed Premier League side Leeds United 3-2 in Florida.
Wrexham fans enjoyed the club’s third summer invasion of the States in four years(Image: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Tight 1-0 defeats against Liverpool at the iconic Yankee Stadium and Sunderland in Pennsylvania followed. But the most jaw-dropping sight wasn’t on the pitch.
It was in Manhattan’s high-end sports stores, where Wrexham’s new red shirt, featuring the logo of new front-of-shirt sponsor Firefox, was seen flying off shelves right next to Real Madrid’s famous white jersey.
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire told the Daily Star that Wrexham are now working with a global profile that would make traditional English heavyweights green with envy.
Wrexham suffered a tight 1-0 defeat against Liverpool at the iconic Yankee Stadium(Image: Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
He said: “Wrexham as a brand are as big, if not bigger, than some of the Premier League teams. What they’re trying to do is to engage with people who have got some form of relationship with the club.
“A lot of the American fans are there via the TV show, and that has been very good. This is a chance to say hello, to have the kit launch and just to make further progress. They’ve clearly a strategy for that, and I think they’ve implemented that superbly.”
Maguire witnessed Wrexham mania first-hand on a recent trip across the pond as part of his role as a university lecturer.
Wrexham are a huge brand in the States thanks to the Hollywood takeover by co-owners Rob Mac and Ryan Reynolds(Image: Getty Images)
He said: “I was teaching in Charlotte, North Carolina, two weeks ago and I saw more Wrexham shirts than any other club This is in a place which isn’t a big football city, but the fact is that there’s more knowledge of Wrexham and more shirts being sold in these markets.
“If you take a look at Wrexham’s accounts, they generate more money from overseas income than they do domestically, which is unheard of for a Championship club.”
That stateside clout translates to massive tour fees that second-tier rivals can only dream of.
Wrexham boss Phil Parkinson will have a sizeable war chest thanks to the success of the tour
Maguire said: “The bigger clubs certainly receive a couple of million pounds each as a minimum from the tour. Wrexham are probably not quite there, but if I was them, I wouldn’t get out of bed for at least half a million.”
The tour acted as the ultimate showcase for Wrexham’s multi-year front-of-shirt partnership with tech behemoths Firefox, which has been valued at a staggering £10m.
Maguire insists that eye-watering figure is fair game for a club expected to push revenue boundaries toward £50m this season.
He said: “If you want a front of shirt deal then you’ve got to go and pay an appropriate rate. So, £10million for this season is not an unreasonable demand.
“But it’s not based on the fact that they’re in the Championship. It’s based on the fact that they’re Wrexham. I think it’s a good pairing because Firefox is a universal brand and product.
“They want to associate with a football club which has a universal presence, and Wrexham tick those boxes. The United States is probably their biggest single market, so the two things make logical sense.”
Best of all for the Wrexham faithful? New EFL Squad Cost Ratio rules mean 85 per cent of every million pounds pulled in from tours and commercial deals can go straight into squad spending.
Maguire added: “These rules are forward looking, so every extra million pounds you make from sponsorship and from promotional tours is £850,000 that you can spend on your player costs.
“Those international links in particular do give Wrexham one of the most competitive budgets in the Championship, if you exclude those clubs that have just been relegated and who’ve got the benefit of parachute payments.”
Armed with strong financial backing and with three more seasons of their hit docuseries locked in, the Hollywood regime is handing manager Phil Parkinson an elite war chest as they look to reach the Premier League.
