Nike vs Adidas - German Edition
It is very rare that a sports marketing deal is breaking news in mainstream media. Yesterday it happened. The news about the German Football Federation leaving Adidas for Nike - after more than 70 years - was even sent as a push notification by major German media outlets.
Some readers were confused about the relevance criteria for the breaking news, but the articles were the most read and commented on that day. Even the Vice Chancellor of Germany Robert Habeck released a statement criticizing the deal.
"I can hardly imagine the German jersey without the three stripes," said Habeck. "Adidas and black, red and gold have always belonged together for me. A piece of German identity." The Minister of Economic Affairs also criticized the switch to a foreign outfitter in general: "I would have liked to see a bit more local patriotism."
So why is this such a big deal?
Adidas and German football are part of sporting history - that still shapes the industry.
When Germany won its first World Cup title in 1954, coach Sepp Herberger is said to have said in the rain in Bern: "Adi, put on the studs". And Adi Dassler, the founder and namesake of Adidas, screwed his special studs onto the football boots that the whole world would soon be wearing. The World Cup final became the miracle of Bern and Dassler became the nation's shoemaker, sitting on the coach's bench. Three more World Cup titles followed, in Adidas shirts.
Adidas built its empire on football. They invented sports marketing and basically with it a whole new industry, that they led until the rise of a new American competitor in the 90s: Nike.
But while Nike grew to become the market leader and overtook Adidas in more and more sports and markets, German football was always Adidas territory. Adidas X DFB was almost like a holy relationship.
The three stripes were untouchable. This can even be read from the DFB's latest announcement. DFB Managing Director Holger Blask was quoted as saying: "The award to the future supplier partner Nike is the result of a transparent and non-discriminatory tender. Nike submitted by far the best economic offer."
This might sound like the obvious. How else would the process have worked?
But it wasn't always like that. The DFB didn't always go for the best offer.
In 2006 and 2007, Nike already tried to sign the DFB - with 500 million euros for ten years. That was more than twice the Adidas offer, but somehow the DFB still stayed with Adidas. The controversial decision even went to court because it was a little bit too obvious that something was off - and decision makers influenced (=on the Adidas payroll) behind the scenes.
It was proof that the power of Adidas, also a shareholder of FC Bayern München AG since 2002, was too great.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern's CEO at the time, said about a potential signing of the DFB with Nike: "I have already told DFB boss Theo Zwanziger that our players will no longer be available."
Rumors had it that the old, German men running the DFB were afraid they would have to start speaking English with their shirt supplier.
Reading the comments of fans and the Vice Chancellor, you get the feeling that they still live in those times. Thinking that it is a matter of patriotism when choosing the main sponsor shows a complete lack of understanding of globalized sports in 2024.
It is not about where your brand partner is from, but what it can do for you. A distribution network of more than 6,000 stores around the world to put your jerseys in front of customers helps. Or a storytelling machine that makes people queue for your products like a bunch of sneakerheads for the newest Air Jordans. Especially when you have some serious PR problems (greetings from Qatar).
"Not even the German Football Association buys from German companies anymore" was another comment of a fan. It explains how the currently bad state of the German economy helps spread the message.
But then again, the DFB is not buying anything. They are selling. And the American company is willing to pay significantly more to be involved in German football than the German competitor brand.
Maybe we are a bit biased, but:
Nike pays 100m per year, so double the 50m that Adidas was paying according to Handelsblatt
The biggest national football federation in the world partners with the biggest sportswear brand in the world
Nike is among the most popular brands for Gen Z (Visual Capitalist, Yahoo Finance).
German football was just as encrusted in its structures as its team's play at the last two World Cups. It looks like now there are people in charge who are going for the best offer and willing to change things up even when headwinds are to be expected.
It is the end of an era in German football. But if Nike does only half for the German national team of what they did for the Brazilian national team in the 90s, it could be a win-win-win for the brand, the association - and most importantly, the fans.
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