Dive Brief:
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Nike Inc. has won the bid for the eight-year contract to make uniforms for the National Basketball Association.
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The contract, worth more than $1 billion, is an approximate 245% increase over the value of Adidas' previous contract. But Nike’s swoosh, in a first-time deal, will appear on the outside of the uniforms.
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Nike will take over from Adidas AG in 2017, which took over from Reebok when Adidas bought that company. Adidas has had the high-profile licensing agreement for a decade, but declined to bid this time around.
Dive Insight:
Nike was expected to be aggressive in this bid, and this deal is costing a pretty penny. Too much for Adidas, which opted out of this round to concentrate on trimming costs and turning business around.
It’s hard to know how fans will react to the retailer’s swoosh being splashed along with team logos; it's likely most won’t care. And basketball fans will see a lot of that swoosh; Nike now owns the licensing for the WNBA and the NBA D-League as well.