The controversial Colin Kaepernick scores a new deal with Nike, a very visible one at that. Attention Nike (NKE) - Get Report investors: the controversial Colin Kaepernick hopes to score you a touchdown in coming quarters. The former San Francisco 49ers star quarterback turn face of the NFL's take a knee movement, will be the key athlete for Nike's new 'Just Do It' ad campaign. According to TMZ, part of the new multi-year deal with Kaepernick includes a new sneaker and apparel line. Kaepernick's prior deal with Nike was set to expire. A Nike spokesman didn't immediately return an email request for comment. Kaepernick did not play in the 2017 NFL season. Nike shares have surged 30% this year on the back of improving demand for basketball sneakers by LeBron James and its other stable of NBA stars. The company has also found continued success in the running category and online. It's unlikely the Kaepernick ad and product line will directly move the financial needle for Nike. But time will tell if Nike taking a quasi political stance will turn off those interested in the company's broader product portfolio.<doc-sep>Clay Travis Opinion contributor The American footwear company Nike made the disastrous decision to pay Colin Kaepernick millions of dollars a year to be a spokesperson for their "Just Do It" advertising campaign. The company's new tag line for Kaepernick is: "Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything." By "sacrificing everything," evidently Nike means "make millions of dollars more a year to appear in an advertising campaign than you would make as a back-up quarterback in the NFL." Boy, has Kaepernick ever sacrificed! According to Yahoo Sports, he gets his own branded shoe line, shirts, jerseys and specific Kaepernick apparel. He will be paid a comparable amount to the best NFL players signed to Nike deals, millions a year. Whereas in the past Nike signed and paid the best athletes in their sports — Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Andre Agassi, Bo Jackson, Serena Williams — now the company is signing a former athlete who is infamous for his politics. Nike uses politics as a selling point In so doing Nike has made the decision to forswear athletic dominance and instead embrace politics as its new selling point. Nike, the same company dealing with a discrimination lawsuit, is now the latest company to get woke. That's despite the fact that we've already seen that mixing politics and sports has had disastrous impacts for ESPN and NFL. Get woke and go broke, indeed. Now Nike wants a bite at the social justice warrior apple. Wall Street agrees this marketing decision is bad for business, as Nike's share took a dip in the stock market open this morning. And to what end? Related:Colin Kaepernick's new 'Just Do it' Nike ad puts pressure on NFL to take a stand Does Nike really believe that every moment of every American's life must now be spent weighing politics? I don't want to enter a sports apparel store and have to pick a shoe brand for myself or my three young sons because of a company's politics. As a political moderate who voted for Gary Johnson in 2016, I don't want to have to place every company into Republican or Democratic buckets, and decide what to buy while analyzing these factors. But that's what Nike's decision has forced me to do. And as a result, I have bought my last Nike products for me and my boys. I'm not supporting politics above sports Nike may not miss the several hundred dollars a year my family spends on athletic apparel and shoes — and they may even feel like they'll make it up off other more woke purchasers — but I'm not going to support a company putting millions of dollars into Colin Kaepernick's pockets. I'm not going to support a sports company that puts politics above sports. You can say this is petty of me, but I believe the best way I — and any other consumer — can respond to corporate speech I disagree with is by not purchasing that company's products any longer. I'm not going to march in the streets, burn Nike apparel I already own or spend hours advocating on social media for others to join my decision, I'm just going to do something simple: buy other brands like UnderArmour, Reebok, Adidas for my boys and myself. More on politics and sports:I wore a 'Caucasians' shirt to expose the hypocrisy of racist logos Evidently, I have an antiquated notion: I think every American company should try to serve every consumer regardless of that person's race, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political persuasion. What I love about sports is when your team scores you high five the fans around you rooting for the same team, regardless of what differences you might otherwise have outside the stadium or arena. Sports is a uniting force, not a divisive one — the place where all Americans come together on fields and courts united in equality. Sports represents the best of America, the ultimate meritocracy. The winner is the best man or woman, not the loudest protester. As I write in my upcoming book, Michael Jordan was right when he reportedly said: "Republicans buy sneakers, too." Jordan understood it was his sporting excellence that united the country, not his opinion on Roe v. Wade, gay marriage or guns. Once upon a time, Nike knew this too. Now, unfortunately, Nike has made the decision that politics matters more than sports. And in so doing, they have lost a long-time customer, a kid who used to save up all his money for the latest Air Jordans, potentially forever. Clay Travis is a national morning host for Fox Sports Radio, the author of the forthcoming book, "Republicans Buy Sneakers Too," and a panelist on the daily FS1 TV show "Lock It In." You can follow him on Twitter:@ClayTravis.<doc-sep>
Colin Kaepernick, the former N.F.L. quarterback who inspired a player protest movement but who has been out of a job for more than a year, has signed a new, multiyear deal with Nike that makes him a face of the 30th anniversary of the sports apparel company’s “Just Do It” campaign, Nike confirmed on Monday. The first advertisement from Nike, one of the league’s top partners, debuted Monday afternoon, when Kaepernick tweeted it, assuring that his activism and the protest movement against racism and social injustice he started would continue to loom over one of the country’s most powerful sports leagues. [Related: How Colin Kaepernick controls the N.F.L. protest conversation without saying anything] Nike will produce new Kaepernick apparel, including a shoe and a T-shirt, and if the merchandise sells well, the value of the deal will rival those of other top N.F.L. players, according to people close to the negotiations who spoke on condition of anonymity because Nike had not formally announced it. Nike will also donate money to Kaepernick’s “Know Your Rights” campaign. The N.F.L. did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The ad and the campaign, coming a few days before the start of the N.F.L. season on Thursday, is likely to annoy the league’s top executives and its owners. On Thursday, Kaepernick won a victory in his grievance against the league when an arbitrator let his case, in which he accuses the league of conspiring to keep him off the field because of his activism, advance.