Footballer Boot Deals - Why Are Players Moving Away From The Big 3?
By Maxwell Kablan
For years, Nike, Adidas and Puma have been the go-to boot choices for top-level players. A football boot deal with any of these brands was seen as the pinnacle.
But in recent years, a trend has developed where players are beginning to move away from the big three in search of alternative boot brands.
So why are players changing the narrative when it comes to boot brand deals, and what brands are they moving to?
The Rise of Newcomers
Boots have always been a way for players to express themselves on the pitch. In today’s world of player expression and authenticity, many players have started to tap into this, by seeking boot deals where they can have a role in creating and designing their own boots.
For instance, Nottingham Forest defender Ola Aina is a global ambassador for Sokito, who are one of the world’s first sustainable football boots. As an ambassador, Aina will have his own signature boot and have a hands-on role in creating his design with the Sokito design team. He follows his Nigeria teammate William Troost-Ekong into the Sokito boot market, who debuted the Scudetta model of the boot during last year’s AFCON.
Players such a Chelsea defender Trevor Chalobah and Chelsea Women’s defender Millie Bright, have also become brand ambassadors for Sokito in recent times. These types of boots deals give players the chance to get involved in causes that they deeply care about while also giving them creative freedom.
This type of partnership has also been explored by Decathlon, who teamed up with Atlético Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann in January this year to design his own Kipsta CLR Football boot. In similar fashion to Aina, Griezmann has an active hands-on role in collaborating with the design team while acting as a global ambassador. Notably, Griezmann was a Puma ambassador for 14 years, his decision sending shockwaves in the football boots landscape.
New Balance has also made new ground in signing up some of football’s brightest players and creating their signature boots. Their roster includes Arsenal duo Bukayo Saka and Ebereche Eze, as well as Real Madrid wonderkid Endrick, signalling they have the credentials to attract the next generation of football talent.
Sketchers have also shown they are able to sign some of the football world’s best. Their pick of the pack is undoubtedly England captain Harry Kane, who signed a lifetime deal with the company in 2023, leaving Nike in the process. The England forward was rewarded with his own SKX_01 signature boot, as well as brand ambassador duties. Sketchers’ roster also includes players such as Anthony Elanga, Romeo Lavia and Mohammed Kudus.
These examples all show an emerging trend in players moving away from Nike, Adidas and Puma boot deals. So why is this happening?
Players want to limit exclusivity restrictions
One of the main reasons footballers are moving away from signing boot deals with the big three is due to exclusivity, which relates to a player being contractually obligated to exclusively wear, use and promote products from a brand. Exclusivity can relate to products (also including items like clothing, accessories, bags, gloves etc) as well as a specific company that is seen as a competitor.
The big three generally have greater bargaining power to legally impose exclusivity when it comes to player boot deals, due to their wide range of products they also produce. For instance, Nike, Adidas and Puma are 360 lifestyle and sports brands, so alongside boots exclusivity could also cover a range of sports related clothing, as well as items such as sunglasses, headphones, electronic goods etc. This is the issue that can arise with for a big 3 company: they can limit a player’s sponsorship for a variety of products, that could meet the scope of either a rival product or a rival company.
However, choosing a newer brand deal gives players much more flexibility to engage with other brands. Less renowned boot companies are likely to produce and sell a much narrower range of products than Nike, Adidas and Puma, and there’s therefore less room for overlap of breach of exclusivity.
In today’s world where many athletes see themselves as their own personal brands, many will be looking to express themselves with their clothing and product range, and signing with a boot company that can allow this is an attractive proposition.
Players are seeking longer-term partnerships
Another reason why players are moving away from the big three and moving towards newer boot brands is that they can offer more long term partnerships, and ambassadors roles for players, even when they retire.
The average career span of a top flight footballer is just eight years, and on many occasions, the partnerships that players have with Nike, Adidas and Puma will end once they retire. Only the very best will have the luxury of being a brand ambassador or an investor once their careers are over.
Today’s footballers have a much greater focus on preparing themselves financially so they are in a good position once their careers end. Staggeringly, 40% of footballers end up going bankrupt 8 years after they retire, and not all ex-players are able to make it as pundits or coaches after they retire from the game.
Through athletes signing with boot deals that can give them long term investor and ambassador roles, this can allow them to stay involved in the game they love once they retire, while also allowing them to maintain a lucrative income once they retire.
For instance, Harry Kane’s lifetime deal with Sketchers will give him the ability to have an active input in contributing to Sketchers’ growth within the sports product range well beyond his playing years.
With the rise in athletes investing in causes which they care about while playing and after retiring, it’s long-term partnerships like this that could rise in popularity in the near future.
More players want their own signature boot deals
Another reason why footballers are moving away from the big three is because of less opportunities to have signature boot deals. In recent years, Nike, Adidas and Puma have adapted their approaches to ensure greater focus on their elite athletes when it comes to branding and boot designs. Whether it’s Nike promoting Kylian Mbappe’s Mercurial Superfly x boots and Erling Haaland’s Phantom 6 boots, Adidas’ focus on Jude Bellingham’s Signature Predator boot, and Lamine Yamal’s F50 Collection or Puma’s promoting Neymar’s Future 8 Playmakers boot, this has been the strategy in recent years.
However, this has meant these companies haven’t invested outside of these elite level players, and there are many top players as a result who are signed to the big three company but do not have their own signature boot.
Brands such as Sketchers, Sokito, Decathlon and New Balance give players the platform to have these signature designs that they may not otherwise have if they tied down to a big 3 deal. In reality, most players are outside of the ‘very best bracket’, so this is something that could transform the boot landscape as we know it if these boot deals become a lot more common.
What to expect in the future?
As more and more elite players begin to move towards newer boot brands, it appears more likely that they will become more common in the sports boots landscape.
As these boot makers get more of a hold of top talent, it will be interesting to see how the nature of boot brands deals evolves in the near future. Will these boot companies continue to give players creative and commercial freedom, or will they start imposing athlete exclusivity themselves? These companies will need to weigh up what they value more in their approach to becoming leading boot brands.
The monopoly of Nike, Adidas and Puma will be difficult for any boot company to break, but maybe unique strategies such as these will mark the beginning of a new age in the football boot industry.
