diff --git a/configure b/configure
index 806658c98b..ce7e8aa842 100755
--- a/configure
+++ b/configure
@@ -2733,7 +2733,11 @@ int main( void ) { return SDL_Init (SDL_INIT_VIDEO); }
 EOF
   sdl_cflags=$($sdlconfig --cflags 2>/dev/null)
   if test "$static" = "yes" ; then
-    sdl_libs=$($sdlconfig --static-libs 2>/dev/null)
+    if $pkg_config $sdlname --exists; then
+      sdl_libs=$($pkg_config $sdlname --static --libs 2>/dev/null)
+    else
+      sdl_libs=$($sdlconfig --static-libs 2>/dev/null)
+    fi
   else
     sdl_libs=$($sdlconfig --libs 2>/dev/null)
   fi