Nike has signed a 10-year global partnership with Major League Baseball, taking over the deal originally awarded to rival Under Armour in 2016 for the same period.
Starting in 2020, Nike will become the Official Uniform and Footwear Supplier of MLB.
All MLB on-field uniforms will feature the Nike swoosh, as will base-layer, game-day outerwear and all training apparel for the 30 MLB clubs.
As part of the new agreement, Nike will also partner with all the clubs and promote its brand and products across MLB media assets including MLB Network, MLB.com, and MLB Social.
“We’re thrilled to bring more innovation and creativity to Major League Baseball and the incredible athletes who play the game,” said Tom Peddie, vice-president and general manager of Nike North America.
“This is an exciting time for baseball, and we look forward to partnering with MLB to grow the sport both across America as well as around the globe.”
The deal means that Nike will hold uniform rights to three out of the ’big four’ US league deals, adding to existing deals with the NBA and NFL.
The NHL has an exclusive long-term deal with adidas which runs through the 2023-2024 season.
Challenger brand Under Armour was to have taken over the MLB deal from the current kit supplier Majestic in 2020, but financial issues forced it to back out.
Under the new deal, the licensed sports merchandise leader Fanatics has been granted licensing rights to manage the manufacturing and distribution of the Nike MLB Authentic Collection, as well as Nike and Fanatics fan gear.