2012 Carolina Panthers unconfirmed jersey concepts

Reading classmate Dan Muller’s blog post about the marketing battle between Nike and Adidas during the world cup spurred me to draw parallels to the marketing paradigm shift about to take place in the NFL. Next year the Superbowl will look quite different to the one played today in Indianapolis. This is due to Nike signing a contract in 2010 with the NFL to take over the rights to be the official equipment supplier, with the contract taking effect in April 2012.

While Adidas was the main adversary in the situation described by Dan, Reebok is the target of Nike’s move into the NFL universe. Reebok signed a $250 million deal with NFL in 2000 to be the official equipment for a decade. The details of the Nike contract haven’t been released, however it is safe to assume they paid substantially more than this.

This contract represents a strategic move for Nike. They currently have a large market share in sponsoring college football. Since 1998, at least one team (many times both) in the National Championship was Nike sponsored. The move to pro football takes aim at a slightly different market segment. This segment is more a more casual, wider audience than college football.

Just as in the South Africa situation, Nike has put itself in a position to differ itself greatly from the competitor it is directly attacking. While during the World Cup this meant using ambush style marketing methods, in the instance of the NFL it means substantially changing the look of the league. Neither Nike or the NFL have confirmed any of the concept jerseys circulating on the web, however they will almost definitely implement their “Pro Combat” jersey system used in college football. This means NFL jerseys will be more aggressively styled, tighter fitting, sleeker, and more elaborately designed. Only time will tell whether Nike’s entrance into the most profitable sport on the planet will result in added value in both their brand’s image and their bottom line.