Nike sponsors top athletes in many sports to use their products and promote and advertise their technology and design.
Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase.
The first track endorser was distance runner Steve Prefontaine.
Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's co-founder, Bill Bowerman, while he coached at the University of Oregon.
Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's corporate headquarters.
Nike has only made one statue of its sponsored athletes and it is of Steve Prefontaine.

Nike has also sponsored many other successful track and field athletes over the years, such as Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix.
 The signing of basketball player Michael Jordan in 1984, with his subsequent promotion of Nike over the course of his career, with Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, proved to be one of the biggest boosts to Nike's publicity and sales.

Nike is a major sponsor of the athletic programs at Penn State University and named its first child care facility after Joe Paterno when it opened in 1990 at the company's headquarters.
Nike originally announced it would not remove Paterno's name from the building in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal.
After the Freeh Report was released on July 12, 2012, Nike CEO Mark Parker announced the name Joe Paterno would be removed immediately from the child development center.
A new name has yet to be announced.

in the early 1990s Nike made a strong push into the association football business making endorsement deals with famous and charismatic players such as Romario, Eric Cantona or Edgar Davids.
They continued the growth in the sport by signing more top players including: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Andrés Iniesta, Wayne Rooney and still have many of the sport's biggest stars under their name, with  Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Neymar, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappé among others.

In 2012, Nike carried a commercial partnership with the Asian Football Confederation.

In August 2014, Nike announced that they will not renew their kit supply deal with Manchester United after the 2014–15 season, citing rising costs.
Since the start of the 2015–16 season, Adidas has manufactured Manchester United's kit as part of a world-record 10-year deal worth a minimum of £750 million.
Nike still has many of the top teams playing in their uniforms, including: FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool (the latter from the 2020–21 season), and the national teams of Brazil, France, England, Portugal and the Netherlands among many others.

Nike has been the sponsor for many top ranked tennis players.
Brand's commercial success in the sport went hand in hand with the endorsement deals signed with the biggest and the world's most charismatic stars and number one ranked players of the subsequent eras, including John McEnroe in the 1980s, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the 1990s and Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova with the start of the XXI century.

Nike has sponsored Tiger Woods for much of his career, and remained on his side amid the controversies that shaped the golfer's career.
In January 2013, Nike signed Rory McIlroy, the then No 1 golfer in the world to a 10-year sponsorship deal worth $250 million.
The deal includes using Nike's range of golf clubs, a move Nick Faldo previously described as "dangerous" for McIlroy's game.

Nike has been the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team since 2005.
On February 21, 2013, Nike announced it suspended its contract with South African limbless athlete Oscar Pistorius, due to his being charged with premeditated murder.

Nike consolidated its position in basketball in 2015 when it was announced that the company would sign an 8-year deal with the NBA, taking over from the league's previous uniform sponsor, Adidas.
The deal required all franchise team members to wear jerseys and shorts with the Swoosh logo, beginning with the 2017/18
Nike sponsors top athletes in many sports to use their products and promote and advertise their technology and design. Nike's first professional athlete endorser was Romanian tennis player Ilie Năstase. The first track endorser was distance runner Steve Prefontaine. Prefontaine was the prized pupil of the company's co-founder, Bill Bowerman, while he coached at the University of Oregon. Today, the Steve Prefontaine Building is named in his honor at Nike's corporate headquarters. Nike has only made one statue of its sponsored athletes and it is of Steve Prefontaine.
Nike has also sponsored many other successful track and field athletes over the years, such as Sebastian Coe, Carl Lewis, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, Michael Johnson and Allyson Felix.  The signing of basketball player Michael Jordan in 1984, with his subsequent promotion of Nike over the course of his career, with Spike Lee as Mars Blackmon, proved to be one of the biggest boosts to Nike's publicity and sales.
Nike is a major sponsor of the athletic programs at Penn State University and named its first child care facility after Joe Paterno when it opened in 1990 at the company's headquarters. Nike originally announced it would not remove Paterno's name from the building in the wake of the Penn State sex abuse scandal. After the Freeh Report was released on July 12, 2012, Nike CEO Mark Parker announced the name Joe Paterno would be removed immediately from the child development center. A new name has yet to be announced.
in the early 1990s Nike made a strong push into the association football business making endorsement deals with famous and charismatic players such as Romario, Eric Cantona or Edgar Davids. They continued the growth in the sport by signing more top players including: Ronaldo, Ronaldinho, Francesco Totti, Thierry Henry, Didier Drogba, Andrés Iniesta, Wayne Rooney and still have many of the sport's biggest stars under their name, with  Cristiano Ronaldo, Zlatan Ibrahimović, Neymar, Harry Kane, Eden Hazard and Kylian Mbappé among others.
In 2012, Nike carried a commercial partnership with the Asian Football Confederation. 
In August 2014, Nike announced that they will not renew their kit supply deal with Manchester United after the 2014–15 season, citing rising costs. Since the start of the 2015–16 season, Adidas has manufactured Manchester United's kit as part of a world-record 10-year deal worth a minimum of £750 million. Nike still has many of the top teams playing in their uniforms, including: FC Barcelona, Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool (the latter from the 2020–21 season), and the national teams of Brazil, France, England, Portugal and the Netherlands among many others.
Nike has been the sponsor for many top ranked tennis players. Brand's commercial success in the sport went hand in hand with the endorsement deals signed with the biggest and the world's most charismatic stars and number one ranked players of the subsequent eras, including John McEnroe in the 1980s, Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras in the 1990s and Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova with the start of the XXI century.
Nike has sponsored Tiger Woods for much of his career, and remained on his side amid the controversies that shaped the golfer's career. In January 2013, Nike signed Rory McIlroy, the then No 1 golfer in the world to a 10-year sponsorship deal worth $250 million. The deal includes using Nike's range of golf clubs, a move Nick Faldo previously described as "dangerous" for McIlroy's game.
Nike has been the official kit sponsor for the Indian cricket team since 2005. On February 21, 2013, Nike announced it suspended its contract with South African limbless athlete Oscar Pistorius, due to his being charged with premeditated murder.
Nike consolidated its position in basketball in 2015 when it was announced that the company would sign an 8-year deal with the NBA, taking over from the league's previous uniform sponsor, Adidas. The deal required all franchise team members to wear jerseys and shorts with the Swoosh logo, beginning with the 2017/18 
Nike, Inc.