The fact that the DFB has cut ties with the traditional German company Adidas in favor of a deal with the US company Nike is causing a lot of excitement. Stock market experts see an opportunity in the lucrative contract.
The bad news from DFB headquarters was apparently nothing more than a major hiccup for the Adidas share price. When the stock market opened in the morning, the price fell slightly again to just under 200 euros, but recovered quickly.
Conversely, Nike was able to make little or no capital from the new equipment contract with the DFB. On Thursday evening, after the US stock market closed, the American sporting goods giant prepared its shareholders for weaker sales development in the second half of the current financial year. The share price plummeted from more than $120 to around $100. There is no sign of a high mood caused by the celebrated DFB deal.
Stock market analysts are following the excitement surrounding the change of supplier and the angry debate that has arisen about the lack of “location patriotism” (quote from Federal Economics Minister Robert Habeck) with astonishment. On the trading floor in Frankfurt, the experts' ECGs are just as insignificant as the stock prices.
Manuel Koch, editor-in-chief of “Inside Wirtschaft”, sees the deal between the DFB and Nike calmly: “After half an hour everything returned to normal. Nike shares could not benefit from the coup because the US company presented gloomy business forecasts . So from 2027 everyone will probably start a new game.”
To person
Manuel Koch is the founder and editor-in-chief of the media company “Inside Wirtschaft”. He produces daily videos for his eponymous YouTube channel, was a stock market correspondent for N24 and has presented over 3,000 live broadcasts and 500 talk shows from the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq.
As a reminder: The new equipment contract between the DFB and Nike runs from January 2027. The previous agreement with the Herzogenaurach-based company Adidas ends at the turn of the year. CDU leader Friedrich Merz called the decision “unpatriotic,” and Federal Health Minister Karl Lauterbach even said that commerce had “destroyed a piece of homeland.”
Stock market analysts shrug their shoulders at such statements. “Money rules the world and especially sport,” says Manuel Koch, and continues: “Should you patriotically rely on the partnership with Adidas, which has existed for over 70 years, and turn down the significantly better economic offer from Nike? Nike will probably pay over 100 million euros per year, Adidas has so far done about half.”
According to Koch, the volume of the new deal is, on the contrary, an opportunity – also for Germany: “A lot of money that the DFB wants to put into the development of German football. Many people are currently reacting to this change of supplier with incomprehension, but in the medium and long term it might be possible “We also make a difference in sport. Investments are necessary in order to reap the rewards, often years later. That's the case in every industry – especially when things aren't going well at the moment.”