The Jordan Brand's maverick adventure into football marches on at pace as Raheem Sterling is reportedly contemplating an offer to become the first footballer to sign an endorsement deal with the brand. An offer that would be one of the most, if not the most valuable boot deals of all time.
The Telegraph are reporting that Sterling, who is in the final year of his current Nike boot deal, is being touted as one of the options to front Jordan's next footballing project. Jordan made the immensely hyped move into football last season when they launched PSG's third kits with serious success, and now they're reportedly close to their next step in football, which would be a boot and contracted player or players to wear it.
Of course, the Jordan Brand is a subsidiary of Nike, so it's not as if the Swoosh would be losing the England international, it would be a case of re-positioning him within their line-up and building upon his profile which has elevated ten-fold in the past two seasons with his performances on the pitch backed by his influence for change off it. Sterling has spoken incredibly articulately about challenging the portrayal of young black footballers in the media, which has in turn positioned him as a powerful and respected culture figure. A strong player and one that Nike backed with an individual campaign last season.
The deal that the Jordan Brand have offered Sterling could be as much as £100m depending on the length of the contract. Nike clearly see a huge amount of potential with the Jordan Brand in football but they must be selective about which players they choose to don the Jumpman logo rather than the Swoosh. PSG duo Kylian Mbappe and Neymar would be obvious contenders to front a Jordan football boot – especially considering Neymar's previous collaboration with the basketball brand– but would Nike want to lose them from their Mercurial stable? They're almost certainly being considered alongside Sterling.
Jordan has endorsements with NBA basketballers, Major League baseball players and also musicians, so a venture into football wouldn't be a complete surprise, but it would be intriguing to see what a Jordan branded football boot would look like, and how it would compare to a Nike boot.
Sterling already has an impressive amount of partnerships with the likes of Gilette, EA Sports and Microsoft, as well as genuine interest in the fashion industry and streetwear culture, which sits nicely with the rumoured Jordan interest. Sterling's new Manchester City contract is worth up to £300,000 a week and his prolific form on the pitch has seen his commercial deals grow rapidly in value over the past couple of seasons. Football is still a two team rivalry between Nike and adidas and with Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi approaching the top of the hill a new generation battle is about to commence, and this is a significant move of strength and relevance in leading a new trend by Nike, which bizarrely would see them lose a player for the greater good.
Jordan to football footwear and Sterling to Jordan would be a huge move in disrupting the market, and it's one that would come with risk, depending entirely on the product and story. Nail it and it's flying, miss that nail and it's unpredictable. The potential is there for both scenarios.
