Former Nike director on allowing Federer to leave to join Uniqlo: "For us to let somebody like that go, it's an atrocity"

Roger Federer was sponsored by Nike for a very long time but eventually, he moved to UNIQLO which the former Nike director described as an atrocity.

The relationship between Federer and Nike was excellent at a point in time but it deteriorated a bit since then with Federer ultimately leaving them for UNIQLO. His marketability has always been through the roof which is why brands battled for him. Even last year without playing a single match, Federer apparently made almost 100 million from his deals.

The former Nike Director Mike Nakajima said about Federer:

“He was up-and-coming, one of the top juniors. We brought him on and I realized right off the bat that he’s naturally charismatic and speaks well. And I noticed that he knew he was going to be great.”

He added:

“Roger would have been famous on his own for sure. Even if he was playing for any other brand. But he became a lot bigger because of Nike’s marketing machine. The exposure that Nike can provide to an athlete is amazing. Obviously, you have to have success on the court, which Roger had. He won a few US Opens; that opened many people’s eyes.”

On Federer leaving Nike, Nakajima said:

“That should never have happened. For us to let somebody like that go, it’s an atrocity. Roger Federer belonged with Nike for the rest of his career. Just like Michael Jordan. Like LeBron James, like Tiger Woods. He’s right up there with the all-time greatest Nike athletes ever. I’m still disappointed. But it happened. I have to get over it. It wasn’t my decision and I wasn’t there for it.”