With Nike’s long-lasting partnership with Brazil set to end in 2026, adidas have reportedly stepped in as potential successors with a new 10-year deal worth up to $100m per year.
The adidas v Nike brand battle certainly shows no signs of letting up, with new reports suggesting that the Three Stripes are set to swoop in to pick up the Brazil national team. It’s a move that makes a lot of sense after Nike nabbed the Germany partnership from them, putting a surprising end to one of the most iconic partnerships in world sport and one of the longest lasting associations in the game. The DFB’s deal with Nike was confirmed as an initial seven-year deal that will start in 2027, meaning the 2026 World Cup will be the German national team’s final year with adidas.
After that monumental move, attention instantly turned to how adidas would retaliate – this was pretty much the crown jewel in their roster, after all. Naturally, thoughts veered towards the long-lasting partnerships that Nike had, and when the French Football Federation announced a new kit and apparel supplier tender process back in March 2024 for the next eight-year contract period, many suspected that would be the perfect option for adidas, offering them the opportunity to steal away one of Nike’s key international federations, with whom they have been partnered since 2011. But that was stifled when the French Football Federation announced in May that they were signing a renewal with Nike.
But there was another option; one for whom all was not rosy with Nike. For almost two years, rumours of discontent have circled the Brazilian Football Federation and their relationship with Nike. After more than twenty-five years of partnership (which saw some of the best World Cup kits of all-time, including the recently re-released 1998 World Cup design) and numerous renewals, in 2022, president Ednaldo Rodrigues openly called for a review of the terms on which the agreement was held. A key point of contention was the fact that Nike, under the current deal, did not provide for royalties on kits and merchandise sold. And you can only imagine that, with a reported lack of contact on a new deal, the CBF must’ve been looking one with jealous eyes as Nike handed out one of the most lucrative international deals of all-time to lure the Germans.
Now, following rumours of adidas and PUMA monitoring the situation between Nike and Brazil, it looks like the Three Stripes are ready to pounce. The rumoured 10-year deal that they are willing to offer — set to be worth up to $100m per year — is nearly triple what Nike currently pay, and would disrupt, acting as a sweet measure of revenge for adidas and a suitable parting shot for Brazil.
Despite the shock that this move would send, ending what has been a long-standing relationship of 30 years between Nike and Brazil, it would not be the first time Brazil have worn the Three Stripes, with the two having a history across the late 70s and early 80s, during which time the Selecao wore some of the most retrolicious shirt designs, including the strip worn at the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. It was a real old school classic, with all shirts featuring the famous Three Stripes, and all in long sleeve. With what adidas have been doing this year, bringing back the Trefoil and Couling that with retro Originals collections, you could see how easily this new partnership could work.
Stay tuned for more on this developing story.
