The German Football Association (DFB) is switching from Adidas to Nike. Federal Minister Habeck and other politicians therefore complain about a lack of “local patriotism”. That’s nonsense, because the DFB can no longer afford to show love for its homeland. The defeat on the domestic market is particularly painful for Adidas.
Sponsor change after decades: From 2027, the DFB teams will no longer wear jerseys from Adidas, but from Nike.
Image / Sports photo service
Managers like Nike boss John Donahoe probably dream of such triumphs. Just three months before the start of the European Football Championship in Germany, it was announced on Thursday evening that the cooperation between Adidas and the German Football Association (DFB) will end at the end of 2026 after decades of close partnership. The DFB team’s new supplier is Nike, the arch rival of Adidas from the USA. The bang, which was completely unexpected even for observers, caused an earthquake in Germany that went beyond the football and economic worlds.
The DFB team lives at Adidas on campus
The partnership between Adidas and the DFB, which was sometimes perceived as symbiotic, has existed since 1950; all 17 world and European football championships have been won by men and women wearing jerseys with the three stripes. The men’s team will once again be staying at Adidas’ so-called “homeground” in Herzogenaurach during the European Championships, which seems a bit anachronistic given the recent news.
The DFB was obviously concerned about money. This is understandable for two reasons. On the one hand, the association is considered to be financially troubled. On the other hand, according to the DFB, Nike submitted “by far the best economic offer” in a “transparent tender”. According to media reports, the world‘s largest sporting goods company will pay more than 100 million euros annually for the period 2027 to 2034 as part of the equipment partnership. Adidas boss Björn Gulden probably didn’t want to spend that much money, especially since the company is going through a financial low.
Adidas, the global number two in the industry, only received around 50 million euros annually between 2016 and 2022, after which the contract was extended by four years. However, the new sum is also astonishing in that the market value of the DFB team has certainly suffered due to the men’s team’s disastrous exit from the last two World Cups.
The DFB, one of the largest sports associations in the world, is primarily committed to its members. In their opinion, DFB boss Bernd Neuendorf could hardly afford to reject a very attractive offer for historical, national or sentimental reasons. Some of the money will certainly flow into amateur and popular sports. The outcry from some politicians, from Robert Habeck to Markus Söder to Karl Lauterbach, is cheap. When questions about income or expenses come up, it’s usually easy for them to talk because it’s usually not about their own money.
Fierce battle for teams and players
For Adidas, the decision continues a series of negative developments in recent years. The group suffered from the unpleasant end of the lucrative partnership with the American rapper Kanye West (now Ye), the problems in the most important single market, China, and high inventories. After three profit warnings, boss Kaspar Rorsted had to leave at the end of 2022. His successor, Gulden, who came from local competitor Puma, recently had the thankless task of announcing the company’s first, albeit very small, loss in 30 years.
While Adidas has barely made any money in the past two years combined, Nike generated a net profit of $4.2 billion in the first three quarters of 2023/24 alone, even though the Americans are also undergoing a restructuring including layoffs. In terms of sales and market capitalization, the brand with the Swoosh signet is twice or three times as big as the one with the three stripes.
The bitter battle for teams, athletes and other figureheads between Nike and Adidas (as well as Puma and others) has been raging for years with varying degrees of success. However, Nike seems to be getting the upper hand. Financially, the consequences of the DFB debacle for Adidas are likely to be minor for the time being. National jerseys sell millions of times before championships, but the amount usually depends on how far the team gets. Adidas will still be a sponsor of the attractive national tournaments for men (2024 in Germany, 2026 in the USA, Mexico and Canada) and women (2025 in Switzerland). Emotionally, the jersey change is more than a point win for Nike, it is a stab in the heart of Adidas.
You can contact Frankfurt business correspondent Michael Rasch on the platforms X, Follow Linkedin and Xing.