I’ll ask this question now before moving too far ahead. What brand is Matthew Boling wearing at the start of this training session? Don’t peak and scroll down or it becomes apparent.
At 14 seconds in you can see clearly, he’s wearing an interesting running shoe. I won’t write the brand yet because you need to continue reading this post, lol. Seriously, this may be one of the most compelling NIL discussions in sport.
Previously, the most interesting NIL discussion lied with Puma and Mikey Williams. Mikey signed with the University of Memphis and Penny Hardway. Memphis is a Nike school and Penny is a legendary Nike pitch man. Mikey’s deal was placed on hold since he had to go to court, and this possibly simplified how Memphis, Puma and Nike would work out the details of Mikey’s multimillion-dollar NIL.
Boling, however, decided to turn pro this year. His time at Georgia was laden with amazing accomplishments. Since Georgia is a Nike school when he signed with Merrell last year, yep Merrell, there wasn’t a conflict. Merrell creates trail running shoes.
What’s interesting here? Boling, and I hate to say this, is akin to Abby Steiner. When it comes to sprinting, there haven’t been many standout White athletes. Steiner signed when she turned pro. In a recent discussion on Nike’s recent problems in marketing I explained that Nike has missed on a number of track and field sprinting athletes. They lost Allyson Felix, who started her own brand in Saysh, and Steiner signed with Puma. The fastest man this year, Noah Lyles is with adidas and the fastest most impressive woman sprinter is with New Balance, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone.
The old Nike would have had all of these athletes under contract. The new Nike, focused on a digital first strategy and direct sales, is treating running like it’s niche. The old Nike would have never done that… which raises an interesting discussion for the transition of Boling from college to pro. Merrell doesn’t make track spikes. While their Nova and MTL Long Sky 2 are excellent training shoes (I showed this when I picked up pairs for my daughter and I),
Matthew Boling could be an attractive signee for Nike. He could become their new Prefontaine. If Boling gets a ShaCarri Richardson-esque offer, will his deal with Merrell be safe? Would Nike who has ACG, or adidas, who has Terrex, both outdoor segments for the respective brands, be okay with Boling remaining loyal to Merrell? Boling has a steep hill to climb as a pro, but he’s already won a gold in the World Championships. He is an amazing athlete.
Could Wolverine Worldwide see in Boling a cross category athlete? Wolverine owns both Merrell and Saucony. Would it be worth it to keep Boling in the fold? This is an interesting situation for both athlete and sportswear brand. Will you be paying attention to this or is it too niche to matter?