Kyrie Irving's Nike contract severed for good, says co-founder Phil Knight: "I would doubt that we go back, but I don't know for sure"

Kyrie Irving's Nike contract, worth at least $11 million in annual endorsements, came to an end earlier this month. Nike suspended its deal with Irving following his tweet that featured a link to a documentary engulfed with antisemitic themes.

Co-founder of Nike, Phil Knight, commented on the debacle in an interview with CNBC, expressing doubt about mending ties with Irving:

“I would doubt that we go back, but I don't know for sure.

“Kyrie stepped over the line, it's kind of that simple. He made some statements that we just can't abide by and that's why we ended the relationship and I was fine with that."

Knight further added that Nike carried out a holistic process to sign athletes to endorse the brand, one that went beyond their athletic abilities:

“We look at who we sign and how much we pay and we look not only at how good the athlete is but what his or her characteristics are.

“It's not an exact science, but it's a process that we go through with a lot of intensity and with a lot of people sticking their hand in it."

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How does dropping Kyrie Irving's Nike contract affect the sporting giant?

Kyrie Irving's Nike contract was signed in 2011.

While severing ties with someone as big as Irving might have disastrous consequences for any brand, it is fairly interesting how quickly his Nike contract was terminated. Nike's decision came on the same day the Brooklyn Nets suspended the former No.1 pick.

However, certain caveats about Irving's contract and sales data make things clear.

For starters, Irving's deal would have expired in 2023, so Nike would only have to shell out a year's worth of payments. In return, they saved themselves from being associated with someone publicly defending an antisemtic documentary.

Reports surrounding an unwillingness to extend Irving's deal emerged as early as May, after his stance on the COVID-19 vaccine kept him from playing the majority of the 2021-22 NBA season.

Kyrie Irving's Nike contract is one of several partnerships the sportswear giant has with NBA athletes.

Considering how easily they decided to sever ties, there is reason to believe it isn't the most lucrative. While Nike hasn't explicitly revealed sales data, the Jordan brand made $4 billion for Nike in 2021.

If sneaker analyst Chris Burns' deductions are to be believed, Irving's shoe sales are low.

"Using third party resale data, even when the shoes were marked down sellers really didn’t take an interest in attempting resale.

"Most of the Kyrie models have been marked down as low as $59.99 and many of the models were RTV’d back to Nike or sold directly in Nike Factory," Burns said.

More credible sources corroborate these findings. David Swartz, an equity analyst at Morningstar, had the same view about Kyrie Irving's Nike contract:

“There are some things that are outside of Nike’s control. This Kyrie Irving situation was in Nike’s control. They can drop him.” (via The New York Times)