Nike usurps Adidas as kit sponsor of German football teams with US$108m-a-year deal, ending a 70-year-plus partnership
- The decision to switch to the US company from 2027 sparked dismay in Berlin, with a minister blasting the switch as a lack of “patriotism”
- The 70-year-plus partnership with the Germany company saw the men’s and women’s teams win multiple World Cups and European titles in Adidas gear
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Nike is replacing Adidas as the main uniform sponsor of Germany’s national football teams, taking the competition for marketing primacy in the sport onto its arch-rival’s home turf.
The US company will become the German teams’ main supplier as of 2027, ending a 77-year partnership during which the men’s and women’s squads won multiple World Cup titles and European championships in Adidas gear.
The Nike agreement is set to run through 2034.
Nike submitted “the economically best offer by far”, the German football association, DFB, said on Thursday in a statement on its website. It also included a commitment to support the organisation’s amateur sports activities and foster the development of women’s football.
The DFB’s decision to drop Adidas sparked dismay in Berlin on Friday, with the economy minister blasting the switch to Nike as a lack of “patriotism”.
“I can hardly imagine the Germany shirt without the three stripes,” Economy Minister Robert Habeck said in a statement.
“For me, Adidas and black-red-gold always belonged together,” Habeck said, describing the pairing as a “piece of German identity”.
With the home-grown sportswear brand and the economy both experiencing tough times, Habeck said he “would have hoped for more patriotism” from the DFB, “a bit more hometown loyalty”.
German national teams have worn Adidas gear since the 1950s, with the partnership becoming synonymous with the success on the pitch.
The shock announcement came just a few months before the men’s European football championships are set to kick off in Germany in June.
The switch from Adidas was the “wrong decision”, Health Minister Karl Lauterbach said on Thursday on X, formerly Twitter.
The move saw “commerce destroy a tradition and a piece of home”, he said.
The deal with Nike was “by far the best financial offer” on the table, DFB chief executive Holger Blask said in a statement.
According to the Handelsblatt financial daily, the contract with the US company was worth around 100 million euros (US$108 million) a year – twice as much as the reported value of the Adidas deal.
The loss of the German national team contract is a bitter blow for Adidas, which recorded its first loss in 30 years in 2023.
Nike, conversely, has celebrated its shock deal, which caught the football world by surprise given the iconic status of Adidas in Germany.
“It was a remarkable team effort and a great proof that when Nike brings out our best, no one can beat us,” Nike chief executive John Donahoe said in a conference call with analysts.
“We feel honoured and privileged to partner with the German Football Federation, starting in 2027.”
Nike has steadily made inroads in international football since its first big breakthrough in 1996, when it secured a deal with powerhouse Brazil. It also sponsors teams including France, England and the US, while Adidas supports the likes of Italy and Spain.
The Germany men’s team have crashed out of the past two World Cups in the group stage and the women’s side suffered the same fate last year, hitting DFB revenues.
