For those looking to boycott Nike for signing original anthem protester Colin Kaepernick to a major ad campaign, you might also want to add Adidas and Puma to the list.
According to Yahoo! reporter Charles Robinson, both Adidas and Puma were also talking about engaging the controversial former quarterback in a lucrative ad campaign.
Robinson reports:
Industry insiders told Yahoo Sports that Adidas and Puma were among multiple brands that had conversations about potentially building around Kaepernick if Nike failed to renew his deal following a long stretch of endorsement inactivity.
‘We talked about Colin in March. A lot, actually,’ one shoe industry executive said. ‘We all know the specific kind of deals NFL players are on with each other. His deal was running out, and he had a shoe commitment that hadn’t been done for whatever reason. I’m sure it was because of everything that was going on around him. But it looked like Nike was running out the clock on [his deal] because he didn’t have a lot of time left and nothing was really happening with him. So there were some discussions for us about what kind of an endorser he could be.’
It now seems likely that the inquiries by these other sportswear companies goaded Nike to choose Kaepernick as the face of the 30th anniversary of its “Just Do It” campaign.
However, there may be limits to Nike’s intentions with Kaepernick. According to ESPN’s Darren Rovell, Nike does not really planning any big merchandising campaign around Kaepernick.
Robinson, however, disputes Rovell’s reporting:
It might be a good move not to plan a new line of merchandise with so many fans already burning or destroying the gear they already have thanks to the company’s decision to make Kaepernick its public face.
Even country singing star John Rich of the hit duo Big & Rich took to Twitter to slam Nike for its pitchman.
Follow Warner Todd Huston on Twitter @warnerthuston.