From On Brand to On TV
The Economist and The Athletic are two digital publications I try to read daily. Each week, I'll share two articles that caught my attention; one from each publication.
This week: the splintering of the sportswear landscape and sports documentaries.
How On convinced Kylian Mbappe to leave Nike
There were a number of themes stemming from the Athletic’s excellent intel on Mbappe’s move from Nike to On:
Contracts and the Small Print: On reportedly offered Mbappe a stake in the Swiss brand, mirroring their Roger Federer approach and although, according to the piece, Nike were willing to match the base financial terms, the equity component proved decisive. Mbappe’s Nike deal would also have contained first refusal and matching rights clauses and it appears the equity element was the part Nike were not willing to match. Such clauses caused a major dispute between New Balance–Liverpool.
The Commercial Impact: Whilst some believe Mbappe's decision to leave Nike after a partnership dating back to 2006 underscores how equity participation is reshaping the economics of elite boot deals, many believe it will remain the outlier. Nonetheless, On have been quick off the mark and have already integrated Mbappe into the EA Sports FC 27 trailer wearing their boots.
Devil in the Detail: In order to protect such large investments, boot brands will likely impose significant restrictions on their elite players (including wide exclusivity in the clothing, luxury and athleisure sectors) to ensure their marketing messaging is as uncluttered as possible. I wrote a piece here on how boot deals are structured.
Brand Alignment: While standard deals tend to last 2-5 years, the Mbappe deal is believed to cover the remainder of his playing career and potentially into retirement. The move also highlights the growing complexity of brand alignment in modern football. Since joining Inter Miami, Messi has been aligned across Adidas personally as well as for club and country. Traditionally, brands have favoured players who align across their teams. Mbappe however will now wear On personally, Adidas at club level with Real Madrid and Nike with France.
Disruption, What Disruption? The narrative suggests another example of a challenger brand disrupting an industry long dominated by Nike and Adidas. However, Nike’s revenues (if not profits) still dwarf all of their competitors and they retain marquee athletes such as Haaland, Vinicius Junior and Sam Kerr alongside major club and national team partnerships. The article points to the wider trend of both traditional and challenger investment gravitating towards global stars who transcend national leagues and competitions. For elite talent, there are potentially more options than ever before.
Why get an MBA when you can watch a sports documentary?
The recent Economist piece commented on the slew of recent sports documentaries across Netflix and Amazon Prime including a dissection of Pep Guardiola’s final testing period at Manchester City. The headlines focussed on his crossed words with ex-captain Kyle Walker and some tempestuous dressing room dress downs after disappointing defeats. The far less pretty side also included the stress, burn out, scratches, bruises and weathering of relationships. The very public nature of sporting performance and trying to manage exceptionally driven talent highlighted the relentlessness of it all. Longevity in a managerial role, especially in football, is the exception.
The same can be said of one of my favourite documentaries The Last Dance. The dedication of Michael Jordan and the Bulls was one thing, but it was the insights into the somewhat fragile and often fractured relationships between team GM/negotiator Jerry Krause, Scottie Pippen and legendary coach and serial winner Phil Jackson that had me entranced.
Krause’s famous quote that “organisations win championships” implying that it’s the team as a whole, on and off court, rather than superstar players that are responsible for a team’s success. This showcased the friction that exists and is often unseen. The real interest for many (myself included) lies in how much of that unfiltered narrative comes through in the storytelling revealing what really goes on behind the curtain.
I use AI as an editing tool to suggest refinements and brainstorm themes to explore during the writing process. The words and opinions remain my own.