The encyclopedia · Advertising & PR · Marketing decision · 2022
Nike ended Kyrie Irving's signature shoe line in one sentence
After the Nets suspended Irving and Nike condemned antisemitism, the eight-year signature deal ended: 'Kyrie Irving is no longer under contract with Nike.'
Nike · Brooklyn Nets · 2022-12-05
What happened
In late October 2022 Kyrie Irving posted a link to a film on social media. The Brooklyn Nets suspended him for at least five games without pay, saying he had refused to 'unequivocally say he has no antisemitic beliefs' and that he was 'currently unfit to be associated with the Brooklyn Nets'. Nike suspended its relationship the same week — 'we believe there is no place for hate speech and we condemn any form of antisemitism' — and said it would no longer launch the Kyrie 8, his next signature shoe.
On 5 December 2022 Nike said Irving was 'no longer under contract', ending a signature partnership that began in 2014 in a single line. Nike founder Phil Knight said Irving had 'stepped over the line'.
Why it happened
- A signature shoe line is the brand's whole bet on one athlete: the moment Nike said there was 'no place for hate speech', the Kyrie 8 was unsellable.
- The termination came in one sentence because the split was a public-position question, not a contract dispute — no negotiation survives a statement like Nike's.
- The Nets' suspension came first, so Nike's decision was made in a market where the team had already set the standard.
The lesson
An athlete's signature line concentrates the brand on one person: the day the company has to state its values in public, the line is already over — the only question is the length of the goodbye.
Aftermath
Irving returned to the Nets after serving the suspension and was traded to the Dallas Mavericks in February 2023. In July 2023, by then a Maverick, he signed a new signature shoe deal with Chinese sportswear brand ANTA.
Sources
- Mavericks' Kyrie Irving partners with ANTA on new shoe deal — ESPN, July 2023
- Nike officially terminates partnership with Kyrie Irving — ESPN, December 2022
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