Colin Kaepernick may not be on an NFL roster, but that hasn’t stopped him from becoming part of one of the most iconic advertising campaigns in all of sports.
On Monday, Nike revealed that Kaepernick was one of the featured athletes in the company’s latest version of their “Just Do It” advertising campaign, designed to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the motto.
Nike Takes Kaepernick off the Bench
In the ad, which was shared by Kaepernick on social media Monday, the quarterback’s face is shown behind a message that reads: “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”
While Kaepernick has not appeared in Nike advertising for the past two years, he has been signed by the athletic apparel brand since 2011.
According to Nike officials, the new campaign is meant to appeal to the high school-aged demographic that may not have seen earlier incarnations of the motto.
“We believe Colin is one of the most inspirational athletes of this generation, who has leveraged the power of sport to help move the world forward,” Nike vice president of brand for North America Gino Fisanotti told ESPN. “We wanted to energize its meaning and introduce ‘Just Do It’ to a new generation of athletes.”
Other athletes featured in the campaign include Lacey Baker, Odell Beckham Jr., Shaquem Griffin, LeBron James, and Serena Williams.
Ads, Like Protests, Prove Controversial
Kaepernick has become synonymous with the pregame protests that have been seen in the NFL over the past two seasons. Then playing for the San Francisco 49ers, Kaepernick began sitting during the national anthem in August 2016, a protest that was later changed to kneeling. Many other players then joined the protests, which were designed to bring attention to issues of racial injustice and policy brutality.
The inclusion of Kaepernick in a high-profile advertising campaign has proven controversial, though that can hardly be surprising to Nike. Social media has been filled with countless posts from people who either plan to boycott Nike or start to purchase their products because of their decision to attach their brand to the protests, which have been divisive since they began.
Kaepernick is currently engaged in a legal battle with the NFL over the fact that he has not landed on a team’s roster after the 49ers let him go following the 2016 season. While San Francisco only went 1-10 with Kaepernick as the starter in 2016, the quarterback performed better than some other starting QBs around the league – let alone the backups on every NFL roster – leading many to believe it was his protests rather than his play that led to his exclusion.
Kaepernick is now accusing NFL owners of engaging in collusion to keep him out of the league. Those efforts moved forward last week, when an arbitrator said that his grievance should go to trial, denying efforts from the league to dismiss his claims outright.
Nike stock slipped about three percent on Tuesday, seemingly in reaction to the new ad campaign. However, some analysts think that the move will prove to be a smart one in the long run.
“Over time…we think the power of the messaging from this new broader campaign is apt to overshadow any potential backlash, near term, in our view,” Oppenheimer analyst Brian Nagel wrote in a note to clients.