NKE Nike Inc

By Andrew Beaton 

It has been three years since Colin Kaepernick played in the National Football League, one year since Nike Inc. made him the face of a controversial advertising campaign and one month since the sneaker giant was caught in a firefight between the exiled quarterback and the league over a failed workout.

On Monday, Nike again deepened its partnership with the controversial and unemployed athlete when it released his signature shoe just ahead of Christmas. The "Air Force 1 '07 x Colin Kaepernick," a black and white shoe with Mr. Kaepernick's image embroidered on the heel, caps a year when the Nike-Kaepernick relationship has consistently provoked sharp reactions -- from nixing a July 4-themed sneaker to rancor surrounding a league-organized workout for Kaepernick.

It is not a simple relationship. Nike is a major business partner of the NFL, but has continued to promote Mr. Kaepernick, an NFL adversary who alleged that the league and its teams colluded to keep him unsigned because of his outspoken political views.

The new shoe is part of a deal that Nike and Mr. Kaepernick struck last year, before the company made Mr. Kaepernick as the face of its brash "Dream Crazy" advertising campaign, a person familiar with the matter said. Mr. Kaepernick had long been a Nike athlete, but he had been effectively shelved for years until that campaign launched at the start of the 2018 NFL season.

"Colin was identified because we believe his voice and perspective inspire many generations on and off the field," a Nike spokeswoman said.

Featuring Mr. Kaepernick was a bold move for Nike. He was a star for the San Francisco 49ers when, in 2016, he began to lead player protests during the national anthem to call attention to social injustice and racial inequality. The resulting uproar reverberated powerfully across the political spectrum.

Mr. Kaepernick has gone unsigned since that season, which established him as a polarizing icon with supporters who praised his message and detractors who assailed him as unpatriotic. Mr. Kaepernick later filed his grievance against the league, which has since been settled.

Nike featured Mr. Kaepernick despite making the uniforms and sideline apparel for all 32 NFL teams, a lucrative pact. The campaign turned out to be hugely popular, and its stock price has steadily in the 15-months since the release of the Kaepernick-narrated commercial.

Nike was encouraged to push ahead with the shoe after the positive response to a limited edition Kaepernick jersey the company made and sold out quickly, the person familiar with the matter said. A year ago, Mr. Kaepernick filed a trademark for the image of his face and hair, and that likeness is used on the shoe's heel.

Mr. Kaepernick tweeted that at least two retailers will donate profits from the shoe, which costs $110 for adult sizes, to charitable causes.

"As a football star with the ability to articulate a powerful message, Kaepernick is one of this generation's most prominent crossover cultural influencers," a description of the shoe says on Nike's website.

Partnering with Mr. Kaepernick sometimes has generated headaches for Nike.

Before July 4 this year, Nike, at Mr. Kaepernick's behest, stopped the release of a sneaker featuring the so-called Betsy Ross flag, an American Revolution-era design with 13 white stars in a circle. Mr. Kaepernick had told the company that some people see it as a symbol of hate and exclusion.

Some critics skewered the decision to pull the shoe. Nike replied that it was "proud of its American heritage" but pulled the shoe "based on concerns that it could unintentionally offend and detract from the nation's patriotic holiday."

Then, in November, Nike found itself in the middle of an imbroglio between the NFL and Mr. Kaepernick. An unprecedented workout the league had arranged for teams to scout Mr. Kaepernick fell apart at the last minute -- even as NFL officials were privately touting that they had worked with Nike and Mr. Kaepernick on an advertisement pegged to the event. The ad never appeared.

Making matters worse, the NFL's sharply worded statement about the event's demise placed Nike at the center of the drama, which Nike rebutted saying they never had a camera crew there. The company was caught off guard for being called out by the NFL, a person familiar with the matter said at the time.

The incident clearly did little to diminish the partnership. Just a month later, Nike released Mr. Kaepernick's signature shoe.

Write to Andrew Beaton at andrew.beaton@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 23, 2019 11:32 ET (16:32 GMT)

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