The Rassie effect: Springbok sponsorships nearly doubled in the Erasmus era

SA Rugby's total sponsorship portfolio stood at R420 million in 2018, when Rassie Erasmus inherited a union that had posted consecutive operating losses of R23.3 million (2016) and R33.3 million (2017), with its principal front-of-jersey slot sitting vacant. But two Rugby World Cup victories later, recorded sponsorship income surged 75% in 2025 alone — reaching R738.6 million and pushing group revenue past R2 billion for the first time. The Springbok jersey's newly split real estate (FNB's R150 million front-of-jersey plus Pick n Pay's R70 million back-of-jersey) now modestly exceeds the estimated R100 million per year Vodacom pays to each of Kaizer Chiefs and Orlando Pirates, a comparison that would have seemed fanciful at the commercial nadir of 2016.