Nike closes in on UEFA ball deal as Adidas bows out

By Nicholas P. Brown

April 9 (Reuters) - Nike is in exclusive talks to sponsor footballs for European men’s matches, edging out rival Adidas, a move that could provide a visibility boost to the struggling American sportswear giant but is unlikely to resolve its fundamental problems.

UC3, the joint venture between the Union of European Football Associations and European Football Clubs, said on Thursday it was negotiating with Nike to become the official ball provider from 2027 to 2031 - a role that was rival Adidas’ for 25 years. UEFA is the main governing body for European football, while EFC represents the clubs themselves.

A Nike spokeswoman confirmed the talks but declined to give details, while Adidas said in a statement it would not renew its contract. The Financial Times reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that the value of the deal across competitions could roughly double to more than 40 million euros ($46.70 million) a year.

Nike’s talks include providing balls for the marquee Champions League tournament, but analysts said the splashy deal will not solve the underlying lag in product innovation that has stymied Nike in recent years. The potential deal precedes June’s FIFA World Cup, also seen as a key marketing opportunity for Nike.

The UEFA talks come two years after Nike similarly wrested from Adidas a contract to become the official supplier of the German Football Association (DFB), a deal that German newspaper Handelsblatt said was the biggest global sports equipment deal at that time. Adidas had been paying 50 million euros annually for that deal, while Nike offered twice as much, Handelsblatt said.

A redesign of one of the most iconic balls in sports could fetch interest from football fanatics. But whether a contract could help Nike right its ship after a string of underwhelming earnings reports is another matter.

Morningstar analyst David Swartz called the talks "a nice win," but added: "Personally, I have never looked at the logo on a soccer ball and thought, ’I need to buy new shoes!’"

Nike has lost shelf space to smaller, nimbler competitors like On Holding and Deckers’ Hoka, largely due to a lack of new shoe designs to excite younger consumers as classics like Air Jordans once did. CEO Elliott Hill, who took the helm in 2024, has vowed to refocus Nike on core sports like football and running.

But the company is struggling to work through old inventory, and on March 31 forecast​ a drop in fourth-quarter sales. A key headwind is China, where sales have fallen double digits for several quarters.

"In terms of getting its groove back, high-visibility corporate partnerships are not the silver bullet," said Zacks Investment Research analyst David Bartosiak. "Whether you’re reinventing the wheel or reinventing the ball, you’re still not bringing any sort of meaningful innovation."

Morningstar’s Swartz said Nike still needed unique and functional products to drive sales.

Still, the Champions League, UEFA’s premier club competition, has an audience of nearly 1.2 billion, according to UEFA’s annual report for the 2024-2025 season.

M Science analyst Drake MacFarlane said a deal could help Nike in the medium term, particularly in Europe. "There’s an argument to be made this could help reassert their athletic credibility," he said.

But, he added, "that’ll likely take time to play out."

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