Nike's boss is pulling some serious overtime to fix the sports giant's problems. Elliott Hill, who came out of retirement to lead Nike 15 months ago, is literally flying around the world to rebuild broken relationships with football's biggest names.
The 62-year-old Texan spent 16 days straight meeting with top athletes and club executives. His journey included stops at PSG and Barcelona, two of Nike's most expensive football partnerships worth over €156 million per year combined.
"Since he arrived, he changed everything at Nike," said PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi after watching a match together in February. "It was tough before."
And he's not wrong. Nike had a rough few years. The company chased fashion trends instead of creating breakthrough sports gear. They focused on releasing new colours of old shoes rather than innovating. Sales tanked, and some of the world's best athletes like Simone Biles and Nikola Jokic walked away to competitors.
From Lifestyle Brand Back to Sports Powerhouse
Hill's predecessor, John Donahoe, came from eBay in 2019 to boost online sales. While revenue hit $84 billion by 2023, Nike lost touch with what made them great - sports connections. Product development slowed down, and retail partners felt abandoned.
Things got really bad in June 2024. Nike had its worst day ever on the stock market, wiping out $28 billion in value. Four months later, Donahoe was out and Hill was in.
Hill immediately started making calls. He rang up NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and locked down a uniform deal running through 2038. He restructured the entire company around individual sports rather than just men's and women's divisions.
During his European tour, Hill watched PSG play Monaco, then stayed out until 1am having dinner with Al-Khelaifi at Cipriani. The next morning, he was at Barcelona's training ground meeting star midfielder Gavi and women's football legend Alexia Putellas.
Why This Matters for Football Fans and Punters
Nike sponsors thousands of athletes, but maintaining deals with clubs like PSG and Barcelona is crucial. These partnerships put the swoosh on jerseys watched by billions worldwide. When Nike struggles, it affects everything from kit launches to boot innovations that top players rely on.
For punters keeping an eye on player performance, Nike's product quality matters. Remember when Major League Baseball players complained about Nike jersey quality? That kind of distraction can affect teams and individual performances.
Hill spent quality time with Putellas, who has her own Nike boot edition and calls Nike executives weekly with ideas. "When I have an idea, I call and we share some ideas about my journey, or my project, or the club," she explained.
The company still dominates basketball with LeBron James and Kevin Durant. But in running, where Nike invented the carbon-plate super shoe, they've fallen behind. Runners in Nike shoes won only two major marathons last year while Adidas athletes won seven.
There's some good news though. Sales rose 1% in Nike's most recent quarter, with strong performance in North America. Hill's relationship-first approach seems to be working, even if the turnaround will take time.
Hill's trying to copy Nike co-founder Phil Knight's playbook from the 1980s. "If you watch how Phil Knight ran the company, it always began with relationships with athletes," Hill said. "And that now includes teams and leagues."
As Hill walked Barcelona's streets after his meetings, he kept counting the shoes on people's feet. Nike, Adidas, or something else? For a CEO trying to win back the sports world, every swoosh matters.
