One of the longest sneaker lines in the industry could end after Nike and Kobe Bryant’s estate failed to reach an agreement on a new deal this month. Complex and later confirmed by Nike. Bryant’s Nike deal expired on April 13, 2021, exactly five years on the day his 60-point performance gave an exclamation point to a Hall of Fame career.
Bryant, who originally signed with Nike in 2003 after a long run with Adidas to start his career, signed a five-year expansion with The Swoosh in April 2016. The expansion came to an end this month and it is currently unclear what the future holds for Nike Kobe sneakers. Bryant’s distinctive line with Nike is one of the longest sneaker lines in basketball.
“Kobe Bryant has been an important part of Nike’s deep engagement with consumers,” Nike said in a statement yesterday. “He pushed us and made everyone around him better. Although our contractual relationship ended, he remains a much-loved member of the Nike family. ‘
As part of its distinctive line-up, Bryant drew 11 different models during his playing career and Nike continued to wear his sneakers long after its retirement in 2016. After Bryant’s death in January 2020, the prices of his sneakers skyrocketed on resale websites. such as StockX and GOAT. In the fourteen months since his death, Nike has released more than ten of its signature shoes with more releases until 2021.
“Kobe and Nike have made, worn and adored some of the most beautiful basketball shoes of all time by fans and athletes in all sports around the world,” Vanessa Bryant said in a statement. “It seems appropriate that more NBA players wear my husband’s product than any other signature shoe. My hope will always be to allow Kobe fans to get and wear his products. I will continue to fight for it. Kobe’s “products sell within seconds. That says it all.”
Nike offered Vanessa and the Bryant estate a deal that would extend the relationship, but according to ESPN, it did not comply with the Bryant side.
“I was hoping to enter into a lifelong partnership with Nike that reflects my husband’s legacy,” Bryant said. “We will always do everything in our power to honor Kobe and Gigi’s legacy. It will never change.”
Bryant and the estate have been frustrated since his retirement with Nike’s approach to the Kobe line, and they felt the product was too limited and that there was no availability in the size of children according to ESPN.
The final release of Nike Kobe to date was the Nike Kobe 6 ‘Grinch’, which was reloaded into the Nike SNKRS app on April 13 as a commemoration of Bryant’s last NBA game with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Kobe 6 ‘Grinch’, like many of the Kobe sneakers released since his death, was one of the more sought after sneakers in Bryant’s historically successful series.
As it stands now, Bryant Estate and Nike are unlikely to back down and agree to a new deal, so you can expect the market for its Nike sneakers to rise and resale prices to reach an all-time high.