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Nike becomes top NBA sonsor

June 11, 2015

Sporting equipment giant Nike has confirmed a major deal with the National Basketball Association in the US that will make it the NBA's top sponsor. It's to replace German sportswear firm Adidas.

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Kobe Bryant dunks for the Los Angeles Lakers
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/M.J. Terrill

Nike said it had reached an eight-year contract to become the exclusive on-court apparel provider for the NBA.

It said the deal would take effect in the 2017-2018 season, replacing a contract with German sportswear firm Adidas, one of Nike's archrivals in the business.

"Nike will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and on-court products," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

Rosy prospects?

Nike has taken an enhanced interest in basketball of late, seeing it as a major growth business as the sport has also made inroads in large economies such as China.

Last year, the company's revenues from basketball soared by 19 percent to $3.1 billion (2.7 billion euros), accounting for 11 percent of total sales.

Adidas for its part had earlier conceded it had been losing market share in the US to competitors like Nike and the Netherlands' Under Armour. Under their current 11-year NBA contract, the Germans had spent some $400 million to promote the league. Nike did not disclose any financial details of its NBA deal.

hg/ng (AFP, Reuters)