Nike built its empire on athletes people wanted to wear, but lately those same athletes keep walking out the door. Kylian Mbappé, a Nike face since he was nine years old, is moving to On, a brand only just getting started in football. He's reportedly joining in a deal that includes cash and equity, and he's expected to become a shareholder in the company rather than just another sponsored name.
He's not alone. Lamine Yamal left Nike for Adidas in 2024, and Tiger Woods ended a 27-year partnership with the brand the same year. Nike still has heavyweight names on its books, from Michael Jordan and Serena Williams to LeBron James, Cristiano Ronaldo, Rafael Nadal and Kevin Durant, plus newer faces like Erling Haaland and Vinícius Jr. But the pace of departures is hard to ignore.
It's not just the players
Whole teams are leaving too. Portugal ended a 27-year kit partnership with Nike, switching to Puma from January 2025 after Cristiano Ronaldo's international side moved on. On the club front, Arsenal, Manchester United, Juventus and AS Roma have all swapped Nike for Adidas. FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain remain the biggest clubs still in Nike's stable.
Puma has also taken over as the Premier League's Official Ball Supplier from the 2025/26 season, ending Nike's 25-year run supplying the league's match ball. With the Premier League reaching an estimated 900 million homes across 189 countries, that's a significant platform handed to a rival.
Nike's numbers tell their own story
The business side backs up the unease. Nike brought in $46.4 billion in fiscal 2026, down 2% once currency changes are factored in. China has been especially painful, with fourth-quarter sales there dropping 17%, and Nike has said it expects revenue to keep falling through the first half of fiscal 2027.
Direct sales through Nike's own stores and website fell 6% to $17.7 billion, while sales through other retailers rose 6% to $27.5 billion. Under CEO Elliott Hill, who returned to the company in 2024, Nike has been trying to rebuild relationships with wholesalers, trim oversupplied sneaker lines and lean harder into performance products. There are signs of life: wholesale is growing again, and running has posted five straight quarters of double-digit growth, adding roughly $1 billion in revenue.
Wall Street has still marked the stock down hard. Nike was worth around $264 billion in November 2021; that figure has since fallen to about $57 billion, a 78% drop. The slide has been enough to push Nike out of the S&P 100 altogether, with the company set to exit the index on September 21, 2026, after nearly 18 years as a member. Its market value has already dropped 36% in 2026 alone.
On is turning Nike's old playbook against it
On built its name in running and tennis, but it's now making a serious push into football. Alongside signing Mbappé, the brand has Roger Federer as a shareholder and Thierry Henry running its football operation as football director. On plans to release its first widely available football boots in 2027.
Where Nike offers athletes a spot among thousands of sponsored names, On is pitching something different: a chance to help shape the brand itself as it grows into a new sport, rather than simply cashing an endorsement cheque.
The pattern extends beyond football
Tennis has seen similar movement. Taylor Fritz left the traditional sportswear route behind and signed with Hugo Boss in 2024. "I feel like every brand wants to do a tennis line, even brands that don't necessarily sponsor tennis players. It's just kind of become a popular thing," Fritz said in a press conference after reaching the U.S. Open second round last year.
Iga Swiatek and Ben Shelton joined On in 2023, Frances Tiafoe left Nike for Lululemon in January 2025, and Jack Draper switched from Nike to Vuori just before the 2025 U.S. Open, in a deal reportedly worth around $5 million a year for the world No. 5.
Nike's legacy, built through generations of stars from LeBron James to Caitlin Clark, isn't in question. What's less certain is whether that history alone is enough to keep the next wave of athletes from following Mbappé, Yamal and the others out the door.
