For a long time, Nike was established as the prominent sportswear company in tennis. This was largely because of the Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal duopoly in the sport. The pair sported Nike apparel since they were 13 each, signing contracts that looked like peanuts compared to the current deals. For instance, Federer’s first contract was worth $500,000 over five years.
Nike’s former tennis director, Mike Nakajima, recently revealed the very different reasons they onboarded Nadal and Federer. He also disclosed why the company did not sign Novak Djokovic, even after he became a top player. The explanation does not show Nike in a good light, and they will also rue missing out on a global superstar.
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal had major advantages over Novak Djokovic
In a recent interview, former Nike executive Nakajima discussed the American company’s superstar ambassadors and the one they missed out on. Speaking about not signing Djokovic, he said while the athlete was a great player and had great mic skills, he was from a small country. Nakajima admitted that the company believed that Serbia was not a lucrative market and hence, did not get the World No.1 into their fold (via Sportskeeda).
“Nothing against Novak — he’s a great player, speaks well, and can become the greatest player of all time. But from a marketing point of view, we felt that Serbia wasn’t a big market for us so we took that into consideration.”
Nakajima then talked about Nadal and Federer. He said even though Switzerland was a small country, Federer became a global superstar. This was sufficient to warrant a multi-million dollar extension to the original contract Nike signed with the Swiss when he was an upcoming young player.
The sports company already had a huge presence in Spain because of their involvement in soccer. This made signing Nadal, then a budding superstar, an easy decision, helping expand their footprint in the Iberian nation.
“Switzerland wasn’t all that big either, but when [Federer] became ‘The Roger Federer,’ he became a global athlete and that’s good enough for us. Nike thought Roger was a very promising young athlete, and we could see that the game was moving in Europe.
“Spain is a huge market for Nike, and Rafa has a huge following, so Roger and Rafa are the athletes we decided to hang our hats with, and you have to stick to your guns.”
Unlike his Big 3 rivals, Djokovic changed sponsors frequently. Before his current partnership with Lacoste, he was tied to Adidas, Dead, and Uniqlo. There may be more to Nike not signing Djokovic than what Nakajima revealed.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner is often regarded to be less likeable than Federer and Nadal. He is a strong, outspoken personality with some views that may not align with what Nike associates itself with. Whatever the real reason may be, the American company lost out on a megastar ambassador.
When Lacoste slammed Nadal to hit back at Nike
Previously, Nakajima claimed that Djokovic had a ‘dark cloud’ around him. Recollecting the Serb’s 2020 US Open disqualification and his COVID-19 vaccination issues, the former Nike tennis director said his controversial image will put brands off.
However, Djokovic has had an iconic long-term deal with Lacoste since 2017. After Nakajima’s comments, the CEO of the French company, Thierry Guibert, sprang to his promoter’s defense. He said the company is very proud of Djokovic and will never want Nadal on board (via TennisWorldUSA). This was a clear dig at Nike, who have the Spaniard on their list.
After his 24th Grand Slam title, Djokovic has found widespread acceptance from many corners of the globe as the GOAT of tennis. Lacoste is now virtually synonymous with him in the world of sports. It was a marketing masterstroke from them to onboard Djokovic, while Nike has been left regretting their decision.
