Athletes make a lot of money from endorsements.
Many turn into life-long relationships where the athlete’s name is synonymous with the brand he or she endorses.
That was definitely the case with Swiss tennis great Roger Federer who shocked everyone by leaving his long-standing relationship with Nike behind in 2018 for the Japanese brand Uniqlo.
Nike’s former tennis director, Mike Nakajima recently shared his perspective on this turn of events as well as on Roger Federer the man and the tennis player for the book “The Roger Federer Effect” co-written by Simon Cambers and Simon Graf.
The book is released in hardcover in the United States on February 14, 2023.
Great to have our book „The Roger Federer Effect“ featured on @CNN today. 🙏 Excellent performance by my co-author @scambers73 talking about the @AustralianOpen and the effect of @rogerfederer. 👏 pic.twitter.com/ulxRwT33Ro
— Simon Graf (@SimonGraf1) January 10, 2023
Nakajima was Nike’s tennis director for 29 years, leaving the company in 2017, one year before Federer did.
Federer Was An Icon And Branding Pioneer
Nakajima credits Federer with pioneering the use of his initials and building his personal brand into his athletic wear.
Rafael Nadal and others followed suit in creating their personal brands in conjunction with Nike, but Roger was the first with his signature RF logo.
Federer Was So Likeable
Nakajima compares Federer to LeBron James and Michael Jordan.
Both are icons in their sport and are forever immortalized as Nike athletes.
Federer had a likeability that many fans gravitated toward.
Nakajima described how Roger was able to relate to so many people.
“He has great marketability. I saw him speak four languages in a single interview and switch languages just like that. People tend to gravitate towards somebody willing to share himself and be unbashful. He’s able to appeal to any audience. And people believe that he’s saying the truth, whatever Roger pitches. He’s that believable.”
For these reasons, allowing Federer to leave Nike for Uniqlo is something Nakajima still cannot comprehend though he was not with the company when it happened.
Fame Never Changed Federer
Regarding his personal relationship with Federer, Nakajima talks about how success and fame never changed who he was.
“I’ve had the privilege to meet so many world-class athletes. He’s one of the top on my list, with regards Roger, the game changer, to how nice of a person he is. Yes, he’s got a lot more money and a lot more of everything. But he hasn’t changed. Money and fame change people a lot. I’m not going to name names, but we certainly have athletes in our sport that have changed. Money changed how they see things, act and talk to people. Roger never did that.”
After reading Nakajima’s words, it is conceivable to believe Federer always will be a fan favorite.
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