Nike is 30 years deep into their ‘Just Do It’ slogan and to celebrate the milestone, they have called on Colin Kaepernick as the face of the campaign and brand ambassador for Nike. Reports have come out and said the former NFL QB has been with the company since 2011, but for the past two years, they were sitting on him and didn’t know what to do. Until other shoe companies showed interest.
Their new ad spot shows Kaep’s face with the phrase “Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything #JustDoIt.”
The new deal with Kaep is set to include his own branded line, as well as shoes, shirts, jerseys and other apparel. It is also a star deal in line with the top tier of NFL players in the league worth millions and has royalties in it.
“We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward. We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce ‘Just Do It’ to a new generation of athletes.” – Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s VP of brand for North America
As we all know, Colin became the face of “kneeling” during the national anthem in protest of police brutality and misconduct by authority towards people of minority. This message spread across the NFL, with many other players kneeling in support of Kaepernick and his stance, but the President of the U.S. and others have used his actions as a political tactic to further divide the country.
To date, Kaep has not received a contract from any teams in the league.
As a result, he has taken the NFL to court and just won a huge battle that will allow him to get a full hearing in his collusion case against the league.
Regardless, of how it plays out in the NFL this season or how his court litigations go, salute to Nike for backing Colin and his movement.