VfB Stuttgart jersey swap from Winamax to LBBW before DFB-Pokal final victory
VfB Stuttgart jersey swap from Winamax to LBBW before DFB-Pokal final victory

How LBBW Won Big with a Last-Minute Sponsorship Swap

This post explores how LBBW gained massive exposure through a last-minute sponsor swap at the 2025 DFB-Pokal final—and how Winamax’s missed payment led to a costly PR and visibility loss.

 

Nayeemul Islam
Junior Content Marketer
Insights / 3 Min.


 

1 | A night of sporting and commercial drama 

On 24 May 2025, VfB Stuttgart beat third-tier fairytale side Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in front of 74,036 fans at Berlin’s Olympiastadion, lifting their first DFB-Pokal since 1997 and clinching a Europa League berth for 2025-26. 

 
The final pulled 7.56 million average viewers on ZDF, a 32.7 % market share in Germany’s prime-time slot, before Sky’s pay-TV audience is even counted. 

 

2 | The Sponsor Shock: Winamax Out, LBBW In 

Hours before kick-of, VfB Stuttgart announced that the French betting brand Winamax would not appear on the commemorative cup jersey sold to fans all week. Instead, regional state bank Landesbank Baden-Württemberg (LBBW) took the coveted chest ring for this single match. 

 

VfB Stuttgart jersey front with the new partner LBBW

Credit: LBBW.

The decision blindsided media and supporters: Thousands of special-edition shirts with the Winamax logo were suddenly obsolete – the club has promised compensation 

 

3 | Why VfB Stuttgart Pulled The Plug 

  • Contractual trigger: VfB Stuttgart’s deal allowed logo removal in case of non-payment; management called the switch an “entrepreneurial necessity.” 

  • Emergency replacement: LBBW, already signed as main sponsor from 2025-26 in a three-year, c. €25 m agreement, agreed to step in and even cover any future legal deductions arising from the dispute. 
    Winamax called the move “a clear breach” and “reputationally damaging,” hinting at legal action 

 

4 | The Exposure Jackpot for LBBW 

 
LBBW found itself in the absolute sweet spot of visibility. The logo stayed on screen for a nationwide prime-time audience throughout the entire match and trophy ceremony, featured in hundreds of national and international media stories, and popped up in countless fan posts and highlight clips that racked up tens of millions of views. Factor in the live impact of a sold-out Olympiastadion and the result is an earned-media windfall comfortably into the seven-figure range - achieved without a single euro of extra ad spend. But it’s not just about visibility, LBBW has now etched its name in the club and city’s history books and will forever be remembered for this iconic title win. 
 
Bottom Line: LBBW achieved nationwide launch and emotional halo in a single night – years of brand-building compressed into 90 minutes of football. 

 

LBBW featured in major media coverage after VfB Stuttgart’s German Cup win and last-minute sponsorship change

 

5 | The Cost of Missing The Moment – for Winamax 

  • Lost visibility on the most replayed VfB Stuttgart pictures for decades. 

  • Public narrative of non-payment damaging trust with other rights-holders. 

  • Potential legal fees plus sunk marketing spend. 

  • Fan sentiment, already negative towards a betting sponsor, turned openly hostile. 

 

6 | Five Takeaways For Rights-Holders & Brands 

1. Payment discipline is part of activation. Fail it and you may vanish from the biggest stage. 

2. Have a contingency clause – and a standby partner. VfB Stuttgart solved a crisis in hours because an agreed-upon successor existed. 

3. Final moments carry a lifetime tail”. Trophy imagery lives forever; sponsor decisions must price in perpetual exposure. 

4. Earned > paid. A single high-impact placement can outstrip an entire season’s media plan. 

5. Measure, don’t guess. Only granular AI tracking – Shikenso’s specialty – turns screen time into hard numbers you can monetize. 

6. Be flexible. Crises can be skillfully turned around by being ready to act quickly. 

 

7 | What’s Next? 

LBBW’s accelerated debut now leads seamlessly into its long-term deal, while Winamax faces contract arbitration. The episode will be cited in sponsorship textbooks: a live case of risk, readiness, and ROI – all visible on the front of a football shirt. 

 

8 | How Shikenso Can Help 

Whether you’re a rights-holder hedging against sponsor default or a brand hunting high-impact inventory, Shikenso Analytics quantifies every pixel of exposure across live, VOD, and social. Curious what your next “cup-final moment” is worth? Let’s talk. 

 

 


 

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