When the Athlete Becomes the Asset
Mbappé leaves Nike for On. But the real story is bigger: elite athletes are evolving from sponsored celebrities into distribution networks, intellectual property and, increasingly, shareholders.
There was a time when the economics of sport were relatively easy to understand.
A footballer played football. A tennis player played tennis. A Formula 1 driver drove a car.
The club, team or tournament paid for performance. Sponsors paid separately for visibility. The athlete appeared in an advertisement, wore a shoe or a watch, collected an endorsement cheque and returned to the field.
That model is disappearing at the very top of global sport.
The announcement on 18 September that Kylian Mbappé is leaving Nike for Swiss sportswear company On is therefore much more interesting than another sponsorship transfer.
Mbappé had been associated with Nike since 2006. On is entering football and intends to launch its first football boots in 2027. It has also recruited Thierry Henry as director of football. The company says it wants a long-term relationship with Mbappé resembling the model it built with Roger Federer.
And Wall Street immediately understood that this was not simply about boots.
On’s US-listed shares rose roughly 5–6% in pre-market trading after the announcement.
Think about that for a moment.
One athlete changes sportswear companies and investors immediately reprice the company.
That is where this story begins.
Mbappé is not the product. He is the market-entry strategy.
Kylian Mbappé is joining a company that until now has been overwhelmingly associated with running and, increasingly, tennis.
On generated CHF3.014 billion of net sales in 2025, up 30% year on year, with direct-to-consumer revenue rising almost 34%. Shoes still represented CHF2.804 billion of those sales.