How Nike Plans to Make Tennis Cool Again š¾
Plus Messi's impact on MLS revealed and Taylor Swift influences major football vote.
Welcome to Athletic Interest.
Tennis used to be the coolest sport around. In the 80s/90s, Nike leveraged counterculture icons like John McEnroe and Andre Agassi to help make tennis the epicenter of street fashion. Tennis shoes in particular had strong street appeal. Thatās why some people (usually slightly older) still refer to any type of sneaker as ātennis shoes.āĀ
This may come as a surprise to some of our younger readers. A bit like finding out that your strict accountant father used to have long hair and perform in a rock band.Ā
So, what happened to tennis?
Well, for that you can blame the athletes. As the counter-culture icons retired, they were replaced by global superstars like Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. While this new crop of talent helped tennis and Nike reach a more global audience, the sport started to lose its influence on street fashion.
The biggest problem for Nike was that the market started to change just as this new talent entered the scene. The public wanted retro looks, while the athletes demanded innovative technology. Nike did try to merge these two aspects but it never really caught. Basketball was already the new driving force in sneaker culture and tennis fell deeper into the stuffy country club image it had long tried to avoid.Ā
But itās not over yet! Nike has just discovered a secret weapon that could make tennis cool againā¦Carlos Alcaraz.
The 20-year-old Spaniard is easily the hottest property in tennis right now. Many argue he has the talent to be the greatest ever, and Nike is already making moves to ensure they position him at the forefront of tennis, and popular culture, for the next generation.
Part of this plan is to outfit Alcaraz in the coolest shoes on the market, this includes Tiffany Air Force 1s and Travis Scott Air Jordans.Ā
Then there is this photo:
Carlos Alcaraz with a pair of unreleased Supreme tennis sneakers that are inspired by the old Nike Air Zoom tennis shoes. A strange mix of young and popular with niche and retro.Ā
In many ways, this perfectly illustrates Nikeās strategy for Alcaraz. They want to pair his young persona with the retro looks that are always popular.Ā
Itās a plan that has worked a few times before.
In the last few years, both Billie Eilish and Travis Scott have been asked to modernise the Air Jordan and Nike Dunk models. Both launches have been a success and helped infuse shoes from the 80s with a more modern look.Ā
Pulling tennis from the land of stuffy old men and back into popular culture will not be easy for Alcaraz, but he clearly has the talent to do his part and stay at the top. The rest will be up to Nike.
š Sports Business Bites
š° Which sport is the most valuable?Ā
While Football (the real one) may have the biggest global audience it is in fact the other football that takes the crown, and by a very significant margin.Ā
According to Forbes, these are the average team values across the major sporting leagues:
1. NFL (32 teams): $5.11B
2. NBA (30 teams): $2.86B
3. MLB (30 teams): $2.32B
4. Soccer (top 30 teams): $2.17B
5. Formula 1 (10 teams): $1.88B
6. Indian Premier League (10 teams): $1.04B
7. NHL (32 teams): $1.03B
8. MLS (28 teams) $579M
The biggest factor in these values appears to be TV money. In just one season the NFL generates about $13 billion. In that same time, the Premier League and LaLiga made a combined $7 billion.Ā
This strong earning power coupled with the security and scarcity ensured by their league structure (no promotion or relegation) has helped NFL team values rise in recent years.Ā
One league to keep an eye on is MLS. Teams in MLS have many of the same attributes as their NFL cousins, including a lucrative new TV deal and the security of no promotion or relegation. With Messi Mania drawing new eyeballs to the league, expect revenues and team values to rise accordingly
š Messiās impact on MLS revealed
New stats have just been released that show how Messiās arrival has dramatically boosted interest in MLS.Ā
According to analytics company Antenna:
288K+ new subscribers joined the MLS season pass in July, up from 241k new subscribers in the previous three months combined.
On the day of Messiās debut, 110k people subscribed, up from just 6k the day before.Ā
Estimates now suggest that Apple has well over 2 million subscribers for its MLS season pass, with that number only growing as Messi continues to impress.
ā š Why are so many athletes leaving Nike?
It looks like Kai Havertz is yet another footballer to make the switch from Nike to a rival. This time it appears to be Puma, with Havertz spotted in blacked-out Puma boots and a full Puma outfit while on international duty with Germany.
Footballers leaving Nike is nothing new. Neymar is probably the most famous example after he switched the Swoosh for Puma in 2021.Ā
But in 2023 alone the list has grown:
Lisandro Martinez ā”ļø Adidas
Jack Grealish ā”ļø PumaĀ
Mateo Kovacic ā”ļø PumaĀ
Manuel Akanji ā”ļø PumaĀ
Ousmane DembĆ©lĆ© ā”ļø Adidas
Harry Kane ā”ļø Skechers
So, why are they all leaving? Well, this appears to be a continuation of Nikeās wider strategy of reducing its roster down to just the most important names. A focus on the big stars will help grow those profiles and should see a better return than a more scattergun approach.Ā
This strategy is exemplified by the recent signing of Erling Haaland.
š± Social Media Madness
Athletic Interest and everyone associated with this newsletter absolutely loves Taylor Swift and the music she createsā¦
Why are we making this strangely timed statement? Well, it turns out that not loving Taylor Swift can have a huge impact on your chances of success in life. Just ask Barcelona star Alejandro Balde.Ā
Balde was leading the public vote for the Golden Boy award before a recent interview was uncovered where he expressed a dislike for Taylor Swiftās music. Some Swift fans (or Swifties as we like to be called) saw this and led a call to action for everyone to vote for Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham.
Before Baldeās comments, there were about 100k total votes. Moments after the call to action 3 million votes were cast, with 89% going for Bellingham. Balde was quickly down in second with just 8% of the vote.
In a strange twist, Bellingham has since dropped to 49.5% and Balde has risen to 27.5%. There are reports that this is due to BTS fans rallying behind Balde to increase his vote. This is probably made up but itās already a crazy story so who knows?
Luckily, the fan vote will not impact the actual Golden Boy Award but will decide the related āGolden Boy Webā award.Ā
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