In the 2020 Champions League final, Thiago Alcantara, then of Bayern Munich, wore Nike
Phantom Venom boots. In the year since, he has worn blackout boots, orange Nike boots,
blackout Mizuno boots, as well as Adidas Predators and Adidas Copas.
But what’s the significance?
Thiago is one of a number of players who, over the past
year, have ended their relationship with Nike and, industry insiders suspect, this will
mark the beginning of major realignment in a market that has, for a long time, been taken
for granted as a source of considerable extra income for footballers.
In many cases, Nike themselves have taken the decision to not offer renewal deals to
players at the end of their existing contracts. Privately, there is claim and counter-claim
over whether a player has decided to leave a brand or the brand itself has chosen to
step away but it is absolutely clear that there has been an exodus.
Others to have departed include Neymar, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos and Marco Asensio, as
well as Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka, and Bayern Munich pair Leroy Sane and Robert Lewandowski.
There are different explanations for this.
In September 2020, Neymar left for Puma in a deal that the brand saw as a “once-in-a-lifetime”
opportunity to sign an elite superstar. From the player’s perspective, in addition to
a contract worth around $30m a year, Neymar may have been attracted by the chance to be
the standout star at Puma, following the rise of his PSG team-mate Mbappe at Nike.
It’s a familiar theme. Sources close to leading players have suggested that elite
stars require more attention and promotion than they have sometimes received from the
largest brands. And internal competition is common. For example, The Athletic is aware
of one leading Brazilian player who was unhappy to play second fiddle while Neymar remained
at Nike.
As one agent explains: “You can sign my player but what will you do for him? Will
he be in the adverts or will he stand at the back behind other star players?”
Budgetary issues provoked by the pandemic have compelled Nike to reduce risk by limiting
their endorsement deals. The company’s co-founder Phil Knight has said that COVID-19 “hammered
us” in the financial quarter to May 31 2020 and warned it will change “the whole face
of the business”.
Adidas also saw sales fall by 90 per cent in the first three months of 2020, before
rebounding well later in the year.
And yet one well-placed industry source from a rival brand insisted that the approach at
Nike is not related to the pandemic. Instead, it’s believed to be an international policy
change several years in the making, with new focus on a smaller number of diverse elite
athletes and with themes of social justice incorporated into campaigns.
Kylian Mbappe, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford are examples of clients that Nike hopes will
be at the heart of their promotions.
Across the rest of the industry, more generally, several agents and commercial advisors to
players say that the appetite for six-figure retainers for Premier League defenders or
defensive midfielders is hugely on the wane and that brands are focusing more than ever
on creative talent.
There are still retainers offered to elite young talent but one agent describes the changes:
“These brands want a return on their investment, which they know they can get from elite senior
talent, but is a teenager driving that? In the same way, are you recouping six figures
because an Arsenal defender is wearing your boots? The market has been unrealistic.’
And as that market adjusts, an interesting symptom of that flux is appearing. The departures
from Nike, in particular, have shown the growing trend of players across Europe wearing blackout
boots.
Varane, Ramos, Asensio and Lewandowski have all been pictured wearing them while deliberating
their next move and one agent explains why.
“When a player is out of contract with a brand”, he says, “they often wear blackout
boots because the brand will not give them money anymore. Some will go to the extent
of going to the shop, buying the boots of a brand, and then spraying over them to avoid
giving the brand marketing value.”
Sometimes, the plan does not work. Several years ago, Adnan Januzaj was between contracts
at Nike and New Balance and needed to spray over his Nike boots so as not to promote the
brand he had left. Yet the match played out amid heavy rainfall and, over the course of
the game, Nike’s distinctive tick became visible.
Raheem Sterling had more success. He left Nike last year and wore blackout boots in
a match against Southampton. He also wore whiteout boots in this season’s Champions
League.
He’s expected to join New Balance. So too is Arsenal’s Saka. While, elsewhere, Adidas
have secured agreements for Thiago, Ramos and Asensio, and Varane is likely to join
Neymar at Puma.
The scene is changing. One source sees it as cyclical, though, pointing out that “while
the breadth of portfolios is likely to shrink, the rewards for the greatest talents can rise.”
So, as Europe’s elite players negotiate with new brand partners, they are about to
discover out just how valuable they are considered
to be.