Nike Found Its North Star

…The new sports darling continues his sports flex by wanting to play Ernie Johnson in a movie. Someone please make this happen.

We’ve gone from F1 docuseries to F1 dramas. Two scripted shows around the popular sport are currently in the works as the race for The Next Great F1 Show is underway.

Mikal Bridges switched boroughs and hasn't stopped yapping since. But this isn't Draymond Green trash talk or even your average New York City cabbie. It's more innocent and unassuming.

Everyone is searching for answers on the NBA’s ratings decline. J.J. Redick chimed in on how difficult it is to watch the Lakers, and how the NBA “ecosystem” doesn’t help itself.

Rickey Henderson was your favorite athlete’s favorite athlete. This larger-than-life figure changed baseball forever. Nobody made the sport look cooler.

Nike’s storytelling was hard to track over the last few years. It strayed from celebrating athletes to all areas of culture, diminishing the importance of sport itself. Well, it rewrote the narrative in 2024. The Swoosh’s new North Star? Its old North Star: Sports.

Nike’s “Winning Isn’t For Everyone” campaign might not have hit the mark during the Olympics, but is the perfect slogan for the College Football Playoff and the final month of the NFL season. The campaign is a reminder of how many elite athletes Nike has, and how influential that group collectively is.

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Nike’s long standoff with Barcelona finally came to an end, as it agreed to remain the kit supplier for one of the biggest clubs in the world. The Swoosh also renewed its uniform deal with the NFL until 2038. 

And as women's sports continued growing, Nike was ready. It met the moment when the New York Liberty won their first W title in franchise history, and when Caitlin Clark won Rookie of the Year. We can’t wait for the A’One to drop, and it’s a great sign that Nike has already inked A’ja Wilson to a contract extension before her signature shoe is publicly available.

Running fashion has always been practical. In 2024, that all changed – and running isn’t looking back. You no longer need to be a marathoner for the new wave of running gear.

Running culture has become the new streetwear, and no brand has the streets on lock more than On. It’s hard to avoid its popular running shoes with the funky sole, and it got the ultimate co-sign with Zendaya as its brand ambassador. It’s created new lanes for disruptors like Ante looking to carve its niche in fashionable activewear. Even Hoka has leaned on collaborations with French outdoor brand Satisfy and British-Iranian designer paria /FARZANEH to expand its footprint into more fashionable footwear.

You gotta look good to perform good at your local running club, which has seen an uptick in popularity in 2024. Running clubs are just as much about community as they are about burning calories, and they’re creating their own merch to fill the void from bigger brands.

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