Report: Nike to Take Over MLB Uniforms in 2020

[8BW14]

Why can't we have nice things? As far as I'm concerned, MLB uniforms are about as good as can be expected right now. The material is nice, most of the teams look good. The piping goes all the way around the sleeves and the pants stripes run the full length of the pants. Hell even stripes socks and stirrups are making a comeback. I didn't want the New Era logo on the caps, or the UA logo on the front of the jerseys and I don't want the Nike logo on the chest of the uniforms either. Money makes the world turn though and the old white guys who run MLB have research that shows kids love #fire uniforms in every color under the sun with Nike logos plastered all over them and they are losing  kids watching and playing baseball to other sports wearing Nike branded uniforms  so pasting Nike logos on every thing will fix that. Well it won't, I love baseball and I'll never quit watching it but people perceive baseball as boring because the way it's being played, with an emphasis on analytics and #launch angle, with a disregard for strikeouts by hitters has made for some very slow moving, boring baseball. It has nothing to do with the fact that the players are wearing nice clean uniforms. Not to mention every batter needs to call time twice and step out of the box to adjust his batting gloves and kiss his gold chain between every pitch. Baseball needs to eliminate unnecessary dead time in games, not bring in Nike to get the kids excited about buying their favorite team's jersey with a Nike logo.

 

On top of that rant, I don't really like Nike's baseball templates all that much. They are cut weird and have unnecessary seams and vents all over the place. I'm only 24 but get off my lawn with your hip new materials and ventelation systems and yes, the sky is falling. Nike will ruin every MLB uniform and change is always bad.

[waj287]

I am a little nervous about this. Nike, provided that they understand how timeless and irreplaceable some jerseys are and don't slap the swoosh on the front, could do this fine, but you really never know what they will do.

 

Right now, we might as well just wait until after 2019 and see.

[guest23]

3 hours ago, LakeShow24 said:

Nike is now with 3 major NA professional sports leagues. Crazy.

 

nike has shown that they are pretty much the only company with the finances and marketing savvy to make these deals work...adidas/rbk  did not put out a competitive bid for the nfl, adi basically ceded the nba saying they couldn't make the deal work and ua is in major financial straits having overpaid for too many top tier college deals and other disastrous missteps...this is big business 101...market leader (nike) makes its biggest play for the biggest prize (nfl)...cherry pick only the highest ROI deals in your secondary business (ncaa) then let your #2 and 3 competition kill each other and spend like crazy to try to make a run at being the big dog...2 and 3 have now overextended themselves and can no longer compete...come back and scoop up the other pieces that you wanted but were never worth overpaying for (nba/mlb).

[Gothamite]

1 hour ago, Volt said:

I disagree completely.  I love the way New Era caps look and are built, but I can't wear one for comfort for more than a minute.  Nike's headwear is aces.

 

Seriously, you’re running some long-game Andy Kaufmann routine on us, right?

[scraw28]

4 hours ago, M4One said:

 

5, 4, 3, 2, 1 years?  They signed a 7 year deal, so dumping Adidas for Nike ain't happening any time soon.

 

 

NHL is stuck for a while 

[AstroCree]

Nike hats are uncomfortable as hell. The only 2 hat companies I like are New Era and ‘47.

[scraw28]

I hope the Padres finally go back to brown and gold 

[The_Admiral]

Nike does the heather grey uniforms, right? I'm on board for that, especially for the Yankees (with no more cuffs or white trim).

[Gothamite]

11 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Nike does the heather grey uniforms, right? I'm on board for that, especially for the Yankees (with no more cuffs or white trim).

 

That was UA.  The only thing that made me excited about the deal. 

 

Nike might do it too, and certainly could,  but UA pioneered that. 

 

 

[Cardsblues02]

Im already having nightmares! The storied history of MLB uniforms changed forever. Teams will adopt volt and anthracite. Chrome helmets that are somehow also matte (?). More MLB gimmicks. More ? emojis. This is baddddd!

 

Jokes aside, I really hope Nike just manufactures the uniforms. Don’t try and change them. That should be up to the teams (because the teams will do the right thing). But, again, its Nike...

[Gothamite]

41 minutes ago, Cardsblues02 said:

Jokes aside, I really hope Nike just manufactures the uniforms. Don’t try and change them. That should be up to the teams (because the teams will do the right thing). But, again, its Nike...

 

That’s probably the one thing Nike won’t do.  

 

They're less a “manufacturer” than a “design and marketing firm”, outsourcing the actual manufacturing to other companies.  Like Fanatics, which is taking over Nike’s NFL merchandise contact, making all the stuff and slapping a Swooshy on it afterwards. 

 

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-05-23/nfl-apparel-deal-assigns-jerseys-to-nike-fan-gear-to-fanatics

 

We’ll see if Nike actually makes the on-field gear or is content to just put their logo on it.  For all we know, the actual production might stay with Majestic. 

[MCM0313]

2 hours ago, 8BW14 said:

Money makes the world turn though and the old white guys who run MLB have research that shows kids love #fire uniforms in black, white, grey, navy, and occasionally yellow, maroon, or neon green but no other colors ever ever ever and mostly colors that aren't even official team/school colors  with Nike logos plastered all over them

FTFY

[AstroCree]

Get ready for brown-green Oakland Athletics uniforms. 

[TBGKon]

4 minutes ago, insert name said:

Get ready for brown-green Oakland Athletics uniforms. 

Unless they go Kelly green.

[Webfooter]

For the most part, Nike gets uniforms right.  Sometimes it takes a couple tries, but they eventually get there.  I think it'll be no different with MLB.  I'm more interested to see what happens with the hats since I find New Era caps to be real hit-or-miss in construction/fit but they can come up with great designs while Nike's is not exactly known for their designs but tend to get their fits down more consistently.

[HOOVER]

3 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

Seriously, you’re running some long-game Andy Kaufmann routine on us, right?

 

I sell Nike, New Era, and UA caps, along with Richardson, OC, Pacific, Pukka, many others to my customers.  I have several New Era caps on display in my home office because they look great, but I’ll never wear them due to them being uncomfortable.  When coaching, Nike’s flexfit hats are the choice of our staff and most of my coaching customers choose them as well.  When not coaching, I love ‘47 Brand’s stuff a ton.  

 

Point being, if Nike would take over headwear, it wouldn’t be a bad thing, and I’m sure ‘47 Brand could stick around for the licensed lifestyle caps.  It would be a big blow to New Era, though.

[BBTV]

6 hours ago, Volt said:

I know I'm a Nike homer but it's based off of actual experience, and this is a good deal for MLB.  I expect them to respect tradition (Yankees, Pirates, Cubs, etc.), improve the identities of teams with bad branding, provide some league-wide themed alternates, and generally improve the fit, feel, and function of the uniform.  Their fabrics are much lighter and have a better finish than what Majestic is still using, and what UA sells now also. 

 

Still, at the end of it, they'll look better, but I don't think you'll see drastic changes.

 

5 hours ago, waj287 said:

I am a little nervous about this. Nike, provided that they understand how timeless and irreplaceable some jerseys are and don't slap the swoosh on the front, could do this fine, but you really never know what they will do.

 

Right now, we might as well just wait until after 2019 and see.

 

You guys sound like Nike signs the contract and just has free reign to do whatever they want.  They're not going to "respect tradition", they're going to do whatever they're told  If the Yankees tell them to piss off, then they'll piss off.  If the Padres hand them the keys and tell them to drive the car to wherever, then that's on them.

[DeFrank]

47 minutes ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

 

You guys sound like Nike signs the contract and just has free reign to do whatever they want.  They're not going to "respect tradition", they're going to do whatever they're told  If the Yankees tell them to piss off, then they'll piss off.  If the Padres hand them the keys and tell them to drive the car to wherever, then that's on them.

 

Exactly!!

 

Good lord it is going to be *fine.* The Diamondbacks “futuristic maintenance men working a trash truck in space” uniforms (thanks Rob Lowe) already exists. Blame the teams, not Nike

[BC985]

2 hours ago, BringBackTheVet said:

 

 

You guys sound like Nike signs the contract and just has free reign to do whatever they want.  They're not going to "respect tradition", they're going to do whatever they're told  If the Yankees tell them to piss off, then they'll piss off.  If the Padres hand them the keys and tell them to drive the car to wherever, then that's on them.

 

Probably true, but the Yankees can no longer be trusted to hold the line. Let us not forget that the Yankees did wear BP caps during a game, or two, or more a few years back. 

 

As far as I’m concerned, after this past NBA season, nothing is safe. Baseball wants to appeal to a younger demographic and I think Nike is going to use that at full force to create as many uniform options as they can get away with. 

[Ray Lankford]

So Nike paid a ton of money to be just a tailor for baseball teams? Given what they've done in other leagues, it seems doubtful that they won't want some say with at least some teams. 

 

Also, will the Marlins use the Jumpman logo like the Hornets do?