Nike Back in the Colin Kaepernick Business

Nike signed Colin Kaepernick in 2011. They’ve been paying him since, though he hasn’t been tapped for any front-facing work in two years for obvious reasons. That will soon change as the free agent is one of the faces in the company’s big 30th “Just Do It” anniversary campaign, per a report from ESPN’s Darren Rovell.

Kaeperncik tweeted out the below image with the iconic slogan.

He joins Odell Beckham, LeBron James, Serena Williams, Shaquem Griffin in the Just Do It celebration.

"“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,” Gino Fisanotti, Nike’s vice president of brand for North America, told ESPN."

Just when the Kaepernick storyline was dying down a bit, this news comes flying in from the clouds to ignite yet another go-around. The wheel will spin fast. There will be talks of boycotting Nike, and people who buy more Nike just to counteract that form of protest. Tensions will be high,

This will play out as his collusion case makes it way through the courts.

A cold, politic-free look at the choice to include Kaepernick suggests it’s exactly the type of thing a company would do to generate buzz and interest. Nike clearly believes aligning with him will be beneficial to the bottom line.

Time will tell if that was a wise move or if an attempt to brand “the conversation” as it were was a foolhardy step.