If world 800-metre champion Boris Berian is able to compete in this summer’s Rio Olympics, he’ll be training, competing and living in Nike gear, the same as all U.S. track and field athletes thanks to a sponsorship deal that runs through 2040. However, he’d prefer to be wearing New Balance shoes for the Olympic trials and the Games themselves, but Nike is suing to keep him from doing so. Here’s more on that story, from Sara Germano of The Wall Street Journal:
One of America’s best Olympic running prospects attended a track meet in Los Angeles last month looking for heated competition, but got served with a lawsuit from Nike Inc. instead.
Boris Berian—the world indoor 800-meter champion—was approached by a Nike representative with papers alleging the 23-year-old violated his swoosh endorsement deal when he agreed to a sponsorship with New Balance Athletics Inc. and declined what Nike described as a matching offer.
Just weeks ahead of the trials to determine the U.S. squad for the Summer Games, Nike is seeking a temporary restraining order that prevents Mr. Berian from competing in any non-Nike gear.
Nike is known for its aggressive pursuit of athletes, say sports agents, coaches and industry executives, but such a lawsuit is unusual. That the world’s biggest sportswear maker is battling over Mr. Berian, a little-known runner who flipped burgers at McDonald’s until recommitting to the sport a year ago, shows how much Nike wants to avoid having another potential star run with a competitor’s logo.
Germano notes that Berian signed a short-term deal with Nike that expired in December, but allegedly gave them the right to match other offers, so the question will be if Nike’s offer was actually matching. New Balance reportedly offered him at least $405,000 over three years, plus performance bonuses including $150,000 for winning Olympic gold this summer or $100,000 for setting a world record at the Games, and they also left out “reduction clauses” that would lower his pay in the event of poor results or injuries, which are present in the contract Nike offered him. It will be interesting to see how this plays out, though, especially with the U.S. Olympic trials quickly approaching on July 1. Germano’s piece mentions that the running market is vital for Nike, bringing in $4.9 billion in revenue in the company’s last fiscal year, and that their top track and field marketing exec John Capriotti oversees an annual budget of $60 to $90 million, but that competitors like New Balance, Puma and Brooks are looking to chip away at Nike’s sponsorships and dominance. We’ll see if Berian’s able to make the switch to New Balance shoes, or if he’ll have to wear Nikes along with the rest of his U.S. Track and Field-mandated Nike gear.
