Slam-Dunk Combinations

The major athletic footwear/sportswear companies involved in pro sports-related licensing are increasingly pairing individuals from their portfolios of U.S. pro athlete-endorsers—especially NBA players—with properties from outside the realm of sports. The examples have been piling up slowly since 2019 (a few were released even before that), with the pace of new products picking up in 2021 and 2022:

• Nike has been by far the most active player in this space. This year it has offered pairings involving LeBron James and Post for a LeBron James 19 Low Magic Fruity Pebbles sneaker tied to a new version of Pebbles cereal released for National Cereal Day, and with Giannis Antetokounmpo and Mattel for an UNO 50th anniversary collection of five pairs of sneakers, plus a t-shirt and hat. In 2019 Nike worked with Kyrie Irving and Nickelodeon on a collection featuring designs based on five SpongeBob SquarePants characters; with Paul George and Sony for the most recent of three PlayStation versions of the athlete’s PG sneakers, with creative input from Yujin Morisawa, the designer of the PS5 console; and with Kevin Durant and YouTube for themed KD12 sneakers featuring the red and white of the YouTube logo and phrases seen on the channel.

• Adidas and Donovan Mitchell partnered with Crayola in 2020 for the second issue of Mitchell’s signature D.O.N. shoe collection, offering three shoes in Crayola’s Sky Blue, Banana Mania, and Jazzberry Jam hues. The first D.O.N. release, in 2019, was inspired by Marvel superheroes.

• Under Armour and Stephen Curry paired with Sesame Workshop last year for a Sesame Street Street Pack collection, consisting of seven designs inspired by different characters, as part of their Curry Flow 9 footwear assortment.

• Reebok and Allen Iverson paired in 2021 with Hasbro for the Reebok Question Mid Candy Land edition, with design inspiration taken from the elements in the board game; one side included the words “An Allen Iverson Shoe” to emulate the phrase “A Milton Bradley Game” on the Candy Land box, and the hangtag was in the shape of a game piece.

While all of these feature NBA athletes, similar examples have popped up involving athletes from other sports, including those who play outside the U.S. For example, Puma and soccer star Neymar Jr., who is currently a member of the Paris St. Germain football club and the Brazilian national team, paired with Warner Bros. for a Batman-themed Future Z 1.3 shoe in anticipation of this year’s new film in the Batman franchise.

In most cases, the reasoning behind the pairings has to do with the athlete being a long-time or avid fan of the non-sports property, and/or there being a fit between the positioning of the athlete’s signature brand and the attributes associated with the property.

These collaborations are consistent with a number of trends in sports, footwear and sportswear, and licensing in general: The number of partnerships involving multiple properties and brands has been on the rise, as have pairings between offbeat and unexpected combinations of properties. Athletes have been expanding their personal businesses into a lot of areas outside of sports, including entertainment and non-sports-related endorsements and products. They also are able to make their personal love of pop culture properties known to the world through their social media presences.

Meanwhile, the footwear/sportswear brands have been diversifying beyond sports, pairing with characters, corporate brands, luxury designers, and more, so it makes sense to team some of those with their portfolio of athlete-endorsers’ signature products. And, with sneaker collecting being an ever more important part of their business in terms of both revenue and exposure, their need to create unique products grows each day. Combinations such as those discussed here are one way to achieve that goal.