Mid-2015, the NBA announced that they would be parting ways with Adidas, their current sponsor, to ink a new deal with industry giant Nike. Several months earlier, Adidas had made it clear that they would not be attempting to renew their own deal with the league and Nike jumped on the opportunity, offering a rumored billion dollars to take Adidas’ place. This marks a major coup for Nike, which already owns this same position in the NFL and has a significant toe in the MLB. The announcement also brings with it some major changes, namely that for the first time, – Nike’s immortal brand logo known as the Swoosh.
This may, however, be a win, win, win all the way around. As a European company, Adidas brings with it a design aesthetic that may not be in keeping with the overall tastes of Americans, which is currently the largest purchaser of NBA apparel. A spokesman for Adidas noted that their $400 million contract with the NBA was not as lucrative as they had hoped, but the question is whether people just don’t want to buy NBA jerseys and other apparel, or whether people just don’t like the design aesthetic that Adidas has to offer? With the enormous popularity of football jerseys and other gear already designed by Nike for the NFL, it seems that their taking over the design of NBA apparel may bring wth it another resurgence of NBA apparel into the mainstream.
Sports have always been a major part of American culture and pop culture icons ranging from celebrities to athletes in other sports have long been known to popularize the jerseys of their favorite teams. But the popularity of NBA jerseys seems to have been on the decline for some time, possibly because of their European design aesthetic. Nike, however, has long been known for a more urban, gritty and raw look that appeals highly to the very consumers they are seeking to market to. So both fans and fashionistas may benefit greatly from the NBA’s new partnership with an American based company.
A contract with the NBA, however, may prove to be far more lucrative than their contracts with the NFL, making it a big win for Nike as well. As a predominantly American game, the fan base for American football does not stretch far beyond the borders of North America. As a globally popular sport, however, the NBA’s influence extends around the globe, including the massive population of China and the wealth of consumers it brings. With a potential market of roughly a billion consumers, China alone more than triples the consumer base of the US.
While the switch from Adidas to Nike may seem like a giant about-face, it’s probably not as great of a change as it initially seems. Nike already has a strong foothold in the NBA with their sponsorship of numerous athletes starting with Michael Jordan and his ubiquitous Air Jordans, which eventually became it’s own division, to they 283 NBA players today who sport Nikes on the court, many of whom – like Jordan – have their own branded shoes. At the moment, roughly 60% of the league is already wearing Nikes on their feet, which makes it a fairly short hop to take over the full uniforms.
All in all, the NBA’s new partnership with Nike seems like an all around win for the NBA, Nike and sports enthusiasts the world over.