The Predator Economy
Where it is made, where it sells and what it is worth
Download the PDF A4, 8 pagesadidas has never published a single sales figure for the Predator. It has not even disclosed the size of its football business since 2016. So we built our own model from what is public: the annual reports, the supply chain data, the price tags and the release calendar. This is our best estimate of what the Predator is worth, where it is made and where the money goes.
1. The black box
adidas reports by region and by broad product type, not by boot. The last time it put a number on football was 2016, when football sales reached €2.5bn, or 13.5% of group revenue. It has not disclosed the figure since.7
What we do know is that the Predator is doing a lot of the lifting. The 2025 annual report singles out new colour packs and performance upgrades for Predator and F50 as the drivers of growth in football footwear.2 Industry trackers called the Predator adidas's most successful boot line of 2024.14
Sources: 2010 8; 2012 9; 2014 and 2016 7. 2025 applies a 12–14% football share to adidas brand revenue of €24.8bn 11. Bar lengths are indicative.
2. Our model: what is the Predator worth?
We built the estimate up in steps. Every assumption is shown so that anyone can swap in their own numbers. The ranges are deliberately wide; the central case is the midpoint.
The Predator revenue model, 2025
| Step | Figure | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| adidas brand revenue | €24.8bn | Confirmed11 |
| Football share of revenue | 12–14% | Our estimate anchored on 13.5% in 20167 |
| Football revenue | €3.0–3.5bn | Our estimate |
| Boots' share of football | 30–40% | Our estimate kits, balls and apparel make up the rest |
| Football footwear revenue | €0.9–1.4bn | Our estimate |
| Predator's share of football footwear | 35–45% | Our estimate leading line alongside F50 and Copa214 |
| Predator boot revenue | €0.31–0.62bn | Our estimate central case in the region of €0.45bn |
| Average revenue to adidas per pair | €45–65 | Our estimate mix of Elite to Club, kids, wholesale and direct |
| Pairs sold | 5–14 million | Our estimate central case in the region of 8 million |
| adidas gross margin | 51.6% | Confirmed12 |
| Predator gross profit | €160–320m | Our estimate central case in the region of €230m |
Revenue here means what adidas receives, not what shoppers pay; shop prices are roughly double for boots sold through retailers. The model covers boots only. Lifestyle trainers, gloves and rugby boots carrying the Predator name would add to it.
How profitable is it? adidas's operating profit for 2025 was just under €2.1bn on €24.8bn of revenue, a margin of around 8.4%.11 Applied to our central case, the Predator would contribute operating profit in the region of €40m a year. The real figure is probably higher: a franchise that sells heavily at full price and reuses its own heritage designs should beat the group average, even after the cost of the players who wear it.
Over 30 years. The Predator has been on sale for about 30 years, allowing for its break between 2015 and 2017.16 Assuming volumes were lower in its early years, at 3–7 million pairs a year, we estimate that in the region of 100 to 200 million pairs have been sold since 1994. Our estimate
3. Where it is made
adidas owns almost none of the factories that make its products. In 2025 it worked with 123 independent manufacturing partners running 279 facilities.5 Across all product types, 92% of volume was made in Asia, led by Vietnam (27%), Indonesia (18%) and China (16%).3
Footwear is even more concentrated. Vietnam made 41% of adidas footwear in 2025, Indonesia 31% and China 14%.4 Those three countries make around seven in every eight adidas shoes, and it is a safe bet that the Predator follows the same pattern. The largest single factory accounted for about 6% of adidas's total sourcing volume.6
Source: adidas 2025 Annual Report, as reported by The Investor 4. "Rest of world" is the balance, calculated by us.
There is one notable exception. In 2024 adidas reissued four Predator Mania boots as a "Made in Germany" series of collector editions, a rare break from the Asian supply chain.14
4. Where it sells
adidas reports sales by region, which gives a clear picture of where the brand's money comes from, even if the Predator's own split is not public.
Europe is by far the biggest market at €8.1bn, a third of the total.1 It is also the Predator's heartland: the boot's commercial story runs through Beckham, Zidane and Gerrard, and European football culture drives the heritage demand that adidas has been cashing in on since 2024. Our view is that the Predator sells more heavily in Europe and Latin America than adidas as a whole, and less heavily in North America and China, where football is a smaller share of the sportswear market. Our estimate
Latin America is the fastest-growing region, up 22% in 2025.2 The 2026 World Cup gave that another push: Mexico's shirt was adidas's best-selling national team jersey of the tournament.26
5. A £230 boot: where the money goes
The Predator 26 Elite with the fold-over tongue was listed at £230, $280 or €280 ahead of its January 2026 launch. Reported17 Two years earlier, the Predator 24 Elite equivalent was £240.18 Here is our estimate of how £230 splits when a pair is sold through a UK retailer.
| VAT at 20% | £38 | Confirmed UK rate |
| Retailer's margin | £86 | Our estimate assumes 45% of the pre-VAT price |
| adidas gross profit | £54 | Our estimate 51.6% group margin12 on the wholesale price |
| Freight and import duty | £8 | Our estimate |
| Factory price | £43 | Our estimate materials, labour and the factory's margin |
adidas's gross profit has to pay for marketing, player contracts, design and overheads, which is why its operating margin is around 8%. When adidas sells a pair on its own website or in its own stores, it keeps the retailer's share too.
Most pairs sell well below Elite. The Predator comes in four tiers, Elite, Pro, League and Club, across firm ground, artificial grass, turf and indoor soles.25 Our model assumes that cheaper tiers and kids' sizes make up most of the volume, which is why the average revenue per pair is far lower than the Elite price tag. For its 30th birthday in 2024, adidas and Pro:Direct sold a batch of Predator 24s from a van outside the Emirates Stadium for £19.94, a nod to the year the boot was born.18
6. The franchise machine
adidas now runs the Predator like a release calendar. It launched 26 Predator editions in 2024, including 20 Predator 24 colourways and five remakes of classic models.14 In 2025 it matched that with another 26: 19 Predator 25s, three Predator Mania and three Predator Precision reissues, and a first look at the Predator 26.15
It was not always this way. adidas dropped the Predator from football in May 2015 and brought it back in late 2017 to replace the ACE boot. The rugby Predator carried on throughout.16
The Predator name beyond the football boot
| Lifestyle trainers | The Predator Freestyle pairs the boot's look with a Samba sole; the Originals Predator Mundial blends it with the Copa Mundial; the Predator XLG puts it on chunky sneaker tooling.1920 |
|---|---|
| Retro trainers | A trainer version of the 1999 Predator Accelerator "Electricity" was released in 2018.21 |
| Goalkeeper gloves | Sold under the Predator name alongside the boots.22 |
| Rugby boots | A separate rugby line that survived the football boot's 2015–2017 break.16 |
| Collector remakes | Limited reissues of the Mania and Precision, plus the 2024 "Made in Germany" series.1415 |
7. Who else gets paid
The Predator was born from an outside idea, and outsiders have taken a share. Craig Johnston is reported to have licensed his design to adidas in return for a 2% royalty on future sales, which adidas later bought out with a one-off multi-million payment.23 In 2014 a Hungarian inventor, László Oroszi, won a court case that forced adidas to pay royalties on the Predator Precision range.16 On our central case, a 2% royalty today would be worth in the region of €9m a year. Our estimate Paper 03 tells this story in full.
8. After the shop
Most modern Predators lose value the moment they are worn. On StockX, the Predator Elite "Goal Hunter" retailed at $280, yet its average resale price over three months was £173, across 275 sales.24 The money in secondhand Predators is in the rare and the historic: match-worn pairs from Beckham and Zidane sell for tens of thousands of pounds, as Paper 01 showed.
What the money tells us
- The Predator is a half-billion-euro line. On our model it brings adidas in the region of €0.3–0.6bn a year from boots alone.
- It is made in Asia and sold in Europe. Seven in eight adidas shoes come from Vietnam, Indonesia and China; Europe is the brand's biggest market and the Predator's heartland.
- Heritage is the growth engine. The fold-over tongue, remakes and lifestyle spin-offs have turned a performance boot into a franchise with 26 releases a year.
- The margin is in the brand, not the boot. On our estimate, the factory receives about £43 of a £230 pair; the rest goes on tax, retail, marketing and the name.
Method and confidence
Every figure is tagged. Confirmed means the number comes from a company filing, announcement or official rate. Reported means it has been published by one or more outlets but not confirmed by adidas. Our estimate means it is our own calculation or judgement, expressed as "in the region of". adidas does not publish Predator sales, so every Predator-specific figure in this paper is an estimate. All inputs are shown so readers can substitute their own. Bar lengths are indicative only. We welcome corrections and better data at hello@adidaspredator.com.
Cite this research
adidaspredator.com Research (2026). The Predator Economy: where it is made, where it sells and what it is worth. Research Paper 02, September 2026. https://adidaspredator.com/research/the-predator-economy/
Text and charts are published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (CC BY 4.0). Reuse is welcome with credit and a link. adidaspredator.com is an independent fan project with no affiliation to adidas AG. Figures are drawn from public reporting and our own modelling and have not been verified with adidas. This is not financial advice.
Sources
- adidas Group, Annual Report 2025: dashboard, net sales by segment. March 2026. https://report.adidas-group.com/2025/en/services/dashboard.html
- adidas Group, Annual Report 2025: income statement. March 2026. https://report.adidas-group.com/2025/en/group-management-report-financial-review/business-performance/income-statement.html
- adidas Group, Annual Report 2025: sourcing and supply chain. March 2026. https://report.adidas-group.com/2025/en/group-management-report-our-company/description-of-business-model/sourcing-and-supply-chain.html
- The Investor, Vietnam retains top spot in adidas global sourcing. April 2026. https://theinvestor.vn/vietnam-retains-top-spot-in-adidas-global-sourcing-d18827.html
- Chilat, Where are adidas shoes made? (citing the 2025 Annual Report). September 2026. https://www.chilat.com/blog/2101601743406575618
- Mutual Sourcing, Where are adidas shoes made? Countries, factories and supply chain. August 2026. https://mutualsourcing.com/where-are-adidas-shoes-made/
- Malay Mail (Reuters), adidas takes 12-10 lead over Nike in World Cup shirt deals. May 2018. https://www.malaymail.com/news/sports/2018/05/30/adidas-takes-12-10-lead-over-nike-in-world-cup-shirt-deals/1636648
- NBC News, World Cup kick-starts sales for adidas. 2010. https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna37827484
- Fox News (Reuters), adidas ups 2012 soccer goal as German jerseys fly. 2012. https://www.foxnews.com/sports/adidas-ups-2012-soccer-goal-as-german-jerseys-fly
- adidas Group, 2014 FIFA World Cup already a great success for adidas. June 2014. https://www.adidas-group.com/en/media/press-releases/2014-fifa-world-cuptm-already-a-great-success-for-adidas
- FashionNetwork, Football World Cup a positive for adidas. July 2026. https://uk.fashionnetwork.com/news/Football-world-cup-a-positive-for-adidas-guidance-and-tariffs-in-focus,1855951.html
- World Footwear, adidas posts record 2025 revenue. March 2026. https://www.worldfootwear.com/news/adidas-posts-record-2025-revenue/11313.html
- Statista, adidas sales share by region worldwide 2025. April 2026. https://www.statista.com/statistics/531733/share-of-adidas-retail-sales-by-region/
- Footy Headlines, All 2024 adidas Predator boots. December 2024. https://www.footyheadlines.com/2024/12/all-2024-adidas-predator-boots.html
- Footy Headlines, All 2025 adidas Predator boots: 26 editions. December 2025. https://www.footyheadlines.com/2025/12/all-2025-adidas-predator-boots.html
- Wikipedia, Adidas Predator. accessed September 2026. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas_Predator
- Footy Headlines, Next-gen adidas Predator 2026 'Immortal DNA' Black Pack. July 2025. https://www.footyheadlines.com/2025/07/new-next-gen-adidas-predator-26-immortal-dna-black-pack-boots.html
- Footy Headlines, adidas gives away Predator 24 boots for £19.94. January 2024. https://www.footyheadlines.com/2024/01/adidas-giveaway-predator-24-boot.html
- SoccerBible, adidas Originals Predator Mundial trainer launched. February 2024. https://www.soccerbible.com/lifestyle/sneakers/2024/02/adidas-originals-predator-mundial-trainer-launched-in-two-colourways/
- SoccerBible, The adidas Predator Mundial gets two new colourways. April 2024. https://www.soccerbible.com/lifestyle/sneakers/2024/04/the-adidas-predator-mundial-gets-two-new-colourways/
- SoccerBible, The best adidas Predator and Predator-inspired trainers. 2024. https://www.soccerbible.com/lifestyle/sneakers/2024/02/the-best-adidas-predator-predator-inspired-trainers/
- adidas US, adidas Predator sale. accessed September 2026. https://www.adidas.com/us/predator-sale
- History of Soccer, Craig Johnston: Liverpool winger and Predator inventor. July 2026. https://historyofsoccer.info/craig-johnston/
- StockX, adidas Predator Elite Foldover Tongue FG Goal Hunter Pack. accessed September 2026. https://stockx.com/en-gb/adidas-predator-elite-foldover-tongue-fg-goal-hunter-pack
- Unisport, adidas Predator football boots. September 2026. https://www.unisportstore.com/football-boots/1415-predator-collection/
- WWD / Footwear News, adidas' World Cup moment could help brand steal US sales from Nike. July 2026. https://wwd.com/footwear-news/shoe-industry-news/adidas-nike-world-cup-sales-business-impact-1239075510/