Nike’s Hiring of Kaepernick Sets Up Potential Showdowns with NFL

By ALAN SNEL
LVSportsBiz.com

 

Racial inequality protester/ex-NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick can’t find a job in the National Football League.

 

But he found work with Nike, the global sneaker giant and sports apparel maker.

 

He’s the face of Nike’s 30th anniversary edition of the classic “Just Do it” motto the Beaverton, Oregon.

 

Reaction on Wall Street was swift Tuesday as Nike shares dropped 2.6 percent to $80.04. It will be intriguing to see if the controversial hiring of Kaepernick in the company’s signature marketing campaign will have a long-term effect on quarterly earnings. Nike’s most recent quarterly report for its fiscal 2018 fourth quarter and full year that ended Mat 31, 2018 came out June 28.

 

The earnings report showed fourth-quarter revenue increased 13 percent to $9.8 billion, including net income that also increased 13 percent to $1.1 billion. For fiscal 2018, Nike’s revenues rose six percent to $36.4 billion.

 

While the Kaepernick hire triggered the expected opposition. social media posts of people setting Nike sneakers ablaze and talk of a #Nikeboycott, keep in mind Nike is a global giant and the message of an athlete taking a stand against racial inequality has a universal quality that can resonate outside the U.S. let alone appeal to minorities in America who support Kaepernick’s message.

 

Nike’s promotional spots have always been cutting edge for a mainstream brand, but enlisting a sports figure such as Kaepernick pushes the envelope, even for Nike.

 

On Wednesday, Nike released the 2:05 spot.

 

The release of the news came the same week as the start of the 2019 NFL schedule. And the fact that Kaepernick is the current face for the “Just Do It” campaign will heighten the focus even more on NFL protesters who use the national anthem as a vehicle to express their protests about racial inequality and police brutality against minorities.

 

The impact of Nike making this bold marketing move is profound because the company is a global giant that sets trends about approaches and attitudes to sport both domestically and internationally. Nike may be a West Coast company, but it’s not a lefty, hippie operation or some political action committee with an ideological agenda.

 

It’s a company in the business of making money and its Kaepernick hiring will eventually force the NFL to respond one way or another to protesting players.

 

Remember, too, Kaepernick is suing the NFL for collusion, alleging the league’s teams are colluding to keep the former 49ers QB out of the league because of his past kneel protests even though, hios lawyer argues, there are quarterbacks of lesser abilities being signed to NFL team rosters.

 

And what makes this a potentially volatile and fascinating showdown is that the NFL and Nike just signed an eight-year deal for Nike to set up all 32 teams with game-day uniforms, according to Money magazine.

 

The NFL-Nike uniform deal runs from 2020-2028.

 

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