Nike is deepening its partnerships with the NBA and WNBA as basketball explodes in popularity in 2024. That's good news for the company as it tries to get back to its sports roots and reinvigorate sales — and as women's basketball becomes increasingly popular. The sportswear giant announced in October that it signed a 12-year agreement with the NBA, WNBA, and NBA G League to be the exclusive uniform and apparel provider for each league.
The deal comes across as Nike attempts to stem a sales slowdown and save $2 billion over the next three years. Its revenue for fiscal 2024 was $51.4 billion — up only slightly compared to its 2023 numbers.
The company has replaced its CEO John Donahoe; on October 14, returned to the company in a new role as CEO to help drive innovation and set Nike apart from sportswear competitors. While Nike started as a running brand, its business has historically been linked with basketball after a 1984 collaboration with Michael Jordan. The success of the shoes ultimately led to the Jordan Brand, which brought in approximately $6.
9 billion in revenue for fiscal 2024 — about 14% of Nike's total sales. The new contract comes during the same year as the Paris Olympics and a record-breaking NCAA women's championship that peaked at 24.1 million viewers — the largest audience in women's college basketball history, according to data from Nielsen.
The WNBA Finals averaged 1.6 million viewers on , up 115% from 2023. It also comes at a time when the WNBA sa.