Nike boasts some of the greatest athletes in the world as its primary representatives. Regardless of the field, Nike has a global presence in the world of sports, with some of the best players in the world being represented by the brand. That kind of notoriety and traction was bound to help them increase their brand’s presence across the world, and it has clearly paid dividends for them.
Andrew Petcash made a detailed Twitter thread about Nike becoming the world’s most valuable apparel brand, which is valued at a whopping $33.2 billion, above other luxury brands like Louis Vitton, Gucci, and even their rivals Adidas. Petcash pointed to the athletes they invest the most money in, such as Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kevin Durant, and Tiger Woods, among many others.
1) Blue Ribbon Sports was founded by Bill Bowerman and Phil Knight in 1964.
Bowerman was Knight's track and field coach at the University of Oregon.
Knight was looking for a new name after breaking ties w/ a Japanese manufacturer. pic.twitter.com/ktC34QPlNa
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
3) Phil Knight went to Portland State and hired the first graphic arts student he could find.
Carolyn Davidson.
She charged $35 for the iconic "Swoosh" logo, worth $26 billion today.
What's cool though:
Knight awarded Davidson 500 shares of Nike stock (worth $1m today). pic.twitter.com/KQ99X3dGKo
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
5) Michael Jordan.
Air Jordan was 100% centered around MJ:
• sneakers
• apparel
• own brand
Nike offered him $500k/yr (3x what competitors were offering).
He took the deal and helped turn the Jordan Brand in to a $4.7B enterprise. pic.twitter.com/ClOhSheaXq
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
7) Who is Nike betting on next?
• Kyler Murray
• Naomi Osaka
• Kylian Mbappe
• Scotty Scheffler
• Youssoufa Moukoko
• Giannis Antetokounpo
Here's what interesting…
The average Nike athlete receives a small amount of cash ($5–10k) and credit towards merchandise 2x that.
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
9) Nike is looking to the future.
They have filed 7 trademark applications for the metaverse including:
— Just Do It
— Jumpman
— Air Jordan
They also acquired RTFKT, a company that makes digital sneakers. pic.twitter.com/YzlnEaGO9f
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
11) Nike doesn't just dominate sports…
They are the most valuable apparel brand in the world. pic.twitter.com/LbIRsfoyXP
— Andrew Petcash (@AndrewPetcash) April 15, 2022
Many of the NBA’s best athletes are represented by Nike. Whether it’s Nike by itself, or its subsidiary, the Jordan Brand, Nike has become the most popular brand among NBA players. In fact, even the jerseys of every NBA team are provided by Nike, as they secured this deal with the league after Adidas’ contract with the league ended in the mid-2010s.
Michael Jordan, despite not having played in the league for almost 20 years, is the athlete that the league has invested the most money into, with nearly $100 million invested each year. Presumably, this is because the Jordan Brand has become one of the most popular subsets of their brand. Other than MJ, LeBron and KD are also some of the endorsed athletes with big investment sums thrown behind them.
With players like Luka Doncic, Ja Morant, Zion Williamson, and Cade Cunningham being represented by Nike, it is clear that they have the future of the NBA secured for their brand.
