Nike and strategic partnerships

Like other apparel companies, Nike participates in non-equity alliances with  many professional athletic associations.  These alliances come in the form of licensing agreements that allow Nike to design, produce and sell merchandise using the logos of the teams that are a part of that association.  In addition to the team and association logos, Nike also sells replica jerseys of the most popular players in those associations.  Definitely a smart way to boost revenues.

Nike has taken these relationships a step further with the NFL and the NBA.  They have reached partnership agreements with each of these leagues to be the official apparel provider.  This means that Nike has the responsibility of providing each of the teams with game day uniforms for the players, and apparel for coaches, players and staff.

As far as the NBA goes, Nike's move to be the "exclusive on-court apparel provider" has come with some changes that we've not seen in the NBA to date.  There have never been visible logos (other than the team logo) on uniforms in the NBA, but Nike is displaying its logo on the uniforms.  Nike won the contract from Adidas, who held the previous deal since 2006, and is slipping in the basketball market.  This deal has allowed Nike to further strengthen its competitive advantage.

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