The National Basketball Association (NBA) and NIKE, Inc. (NIKE)
announced today an eight-year global merchandising and marketing
partnership that will make NIKE the official oncourt apparel provider
beginning with the 2017-18 NBA season.
“This partnership with NIKE represents a new paradigm in the structure
of our global merchandising business,” said NBA Commissioner Adam
Silver. “As our exclusive oncourt apparel provider, NIKE will be
instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while
applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and
oncourt products.”
NIKE has a rich history of innovating and leading from the front, and
has supported some of the greatest former and current NBA and WNBA
players. The company has been a global marketing partner of the NBA
since 1992 and expands its rights over eight years under the new
agreement, where NIKE will become the first NBA apparel partner to have
its logo appear on NBA uniforms. NIKE will also have the global rights
to design and manufacture authentic and Swingman jerseys as well as
oncourt warm-ups and shooting shirts.
“We’re excited to bring the full power of our global reach, innovation
and creativity to partner with the NBA and grow the game in a way only
NIKE can,” said NIKE, Inc. President & CEO Mark Parker. “In NIKE, Jordan
and Converse we have three of the most connected brands in the world,
and look forward to making the global growth of the game a successful
strategy for both the NBA and NIKE.”
A marketing partner of the WNBA since its inception in 1997, NIKE will
now have an expanded presence at WNBA All-Star and other events
throughout the season. Also, for the first time, NIKE will become a
marketing partner of the NBA Development League (NBA D-League), engaging
in seasonlong marketing activities with a major presence during the NBA
D-League All-Star Game presented by Kumho Tire and the NBA D-League
Showcase presented by Samsung.
In addition, the partnership will activate around several NBA events
such as NBA All-Star, NBA Global Games, NBA Draft presented by State
Farm, Samsung NBA Summer League and NBA 3X. NIKE will remain the
official partner and apparel provider of Basketball without Borders.
NIKE has served as the footwear and exclusive apparel provider of USA
Basketball since 2006.
About the NBA
The NBA is a global sports and media business built around three
professional sports leagues: the National Basketball Association, the
Women’s National Basketball Association, and the NBA Development League.
The league has established a major international presence with offices
in 13 markets worldwide, games and programming in 215 countries and
territories in 47 languages, and NBA merchandise for sale in more than
125,000 stores in 100 countries on 6 continents. NBA rosters at the
start of the 2014-15 season featured a record 101 international players
from 37 countries and territories. NBA Digital’s assets include NBA TV,
which is available in 60 million U.S. homes, and NBA.com, which recorded
26.9 billion page views during the 2013-14 season, with more than half
of all visitors originating from outside of North America. The NBA is
the No. 1 professional sports league on social media, with nearly 835
million likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player
platforms. Through NBA Cares, the league and its teams and players have
donated more than $260 million to charity, completed more than 3.3
million hours of hands-on community service, and created more than 970
places where kids and families can live, learn, or play.
About NIKE, Inc.
NIKE, Inc., based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading
designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear,
apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and
fitness activities. Wholly owned NIKE, Inc. subsidiaries include
Converse Inc., which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle
footwear, apparel and accessories, and Hurley International LLC, which
designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear,
apparel and accessories. For more information, NIKE’s earnings releases
and other financial information are available on the Internet at http://investors.nike.com
and individuals can follow @Nike.
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