Nike agrees to new 12-year contract with NBA, WNBA
Today at 06:19 AM
On Monday, the NBA and WNBA announced that they would be continuing their partnership with athletic apparel company Nike.
As part of the announcement, the National Basketball Association and Women’s National Basketball Association agreed to a 12-year deal with Nike to design and manufacture NBA, WNBA and G League uniforms, on-court apparel, and fan apparel.
NBA partnership with Nike
“Nike has always been more than a league sponsor. We’re a strategic partner with an unwavering commitment to growing the game, alongside the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League,” said Nike’s President and CEO Elliott Hill. “Our collective power, global reach and genuine love for the game will only continue to create new pathways and opportunities for players and fans.”
Back in 2017, Nike and the NBA originally agreed to an eight year global merchandising and marketing partnership that made Nike the official on-court apparel provider. Nike replaced Adidas, and with the final year of this deal set to begin in 2024-25, both sides negotiated a new, 12-year contract.
Said the NBA in the press release:
“The global extension is highlighted by new content initiatives, a comprehensive commitment to grassroots basketball, as well as the continued development of a joint membership program that delivers benefits to fans of the brands through distinctive products, content and experiences. As the biggest champion of the women's game, NIKE, Inc. is also deepening its investment in the WNBA.”
Nike, the NBA, and the WNBA announced a 12-year extension of their global outfitting, merchandising, marketing and content partnership today.
Nike will continue to be the exclusive on-court uniform and apparel provider for the NBA, WNBA and NBA G League.
Nike will extend its… pic.twitter.com/ML4e2kkd8G— Tomer Azarly (@TomerAzarly) October 21, 2024
On the eve of the 77th season tipping off for the NBA, Commissioner Adam Silver also commented about the unique partnership with Nike.
“Nike is inextricably linked to basketball and has helped fuel the growth and innovation around our sport for decades,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver explained. “With an added focus on youth basketball, our expanded partnership will create even more opportunities for aspiring players to learn and compete at all levels and for fans of all ages to engage with the NBA and WNBA.”
“Since our league's inception, Nike has committed to a shared vision for girls and women's basketball,” added WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert. “Our continued partnership is an opportunity to fortify avenues for development and enhance touch-points across our dynamic fanbase while globally showcasing the WNBA.”
On April 11, 2006, Adidas and the NBA signed an 11-year global merchandising partnership, which ended Reebok’s run as the apparel company of the NBA. After the 2016-17 season, Adidas’ deal with the NBA was not renewed and Nike came into play.
“We're excited to renew our partnership with Nike and continue to showcase our players' efforts on and off the court," NBPA Executive Director, Andre Iguodala said in the release. "This partnership highlights the reach, influence, and impact of our members, driving basketball fandom and inspiring millions of people around the world."
Boardroom spoke exclusively with Nike executives on Monday, where they got the full details on the new deal.
“The partnership will come to life through multiple pillars. The uniforms will continue to be a key component on-court, with each franchise donning a variety of "edition" jerseys that also feature prominent Swoosh logo branding across jerseys, shorts, socks, and accessories. The ongoing Icon, Association, Statement, Classic, and City edition uniform themes are expected to continue and evolve.
"You can definitely expect more from us in terms of the innovation piece and also the storytelling aspect," Hvizdak added.
Fans react Nike, NBA contract extension
The news of Nike’s extension with the NBA dropped during the busier portions of the day Monday. Young players, their agents, and NBA front offices were busy trying to finalize rookie max extensions before the 3PM PST deadline. A number of them, like Jonathan Kuminga, did not agree to the rookie extensions while others, like Alperen Sengun, Trey Murphy, and Jalen Green, all completed rookie extensions and are ready to focus on the upcoming season.
When fans finally did catch the news of Nike’s new deal with the NBA, it was hard to find many in favor of it.
One fan replied, ” now we gonna have to deal with more terrible city edition jerseys???” while another said, “Can’t wait to see what abominations they cook up by year 10 when they still refuse to reuse good jerseys.”
now we gonna have to deal with more terrible city edition jerseys???
— JD13 (@jmi1323) October 21, 2024
Nike has no creativity
— Marty (@Micksavageee) October 21, 2024
Can't wait to see what abominations they cook up by year 10 when they still refuse to reuse good jerseys https://t.co/9PullDK2vs
— Harrison Faigen (@hmfaigen) October 21, 2024
The NBA and Nike plan to continue their tradition of annual city edition jerseys, although some fans are hoping for the same jerseys year after year if they are very popular.
The NBA will officially tip off its 77th season on Tuesday night when the Boston Celtics raise Banner No. 18 and host the New York Knicks. Later that night, the Los Angeles Lakers will host The Minnesota Timberwolves inside Crypto dot com Arena.
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