Sha’Carri Richardson, Nike, and the Super Bowl- is there a connection among these names? A simple method may not provide a definitive answer. Well, the athlete is a well-known figure among Nike’s endorsed athletes. She has actively promoted the brand’s exceptional products. Additionally, Sha’Carri secured her spot alongside LeBron James in Nike’s campaign, showcasing the Paris Olympics. But is there more to it? What about the Super Bowl?

Nike hadn’t been in the band of brands promoting the Super Bowl. In fact, its last campaign for the NFL show came 27 years ago. But things seemed to take a different turn recently. How? There are several reasons. But let’s keep the discussion saved for later. The prominent change for now is Nike is in discussion again. On February 9, the Super Bowl 2025 was scheduled to take place and the brand made a statement on the same day.

On February 9, the world of fans witnessed a 1-minute-long campaign released by Nike on the occasion of the Super Bowl. The campaign has Sha’Carri Richardson and many others promoting emotional storytelling and focusing on female athletes, with Led Zeppelin’s ‘Whole Lotta Love’ playing in the background. And look who is there in the clip with Sha’Carri: WNBA champ Caitlin Clark, Olympic champion gymnast Jordan Chiles, another Olympian A’ja Wilson, and basketball player Sabrina Ionescu. There were big names promoting a sports contest that amasses huge numbers in viewership… But did you spot the message in the campaign?

The key focus of the ad is about gunning for a greater horizons while blocking out the external noises and naysayers. The brand steadfastly promoted the messages by capitalizing on the athletes’ personal image of success. During their appearances in the clip, every star athlete nods to the background voice talking about breaking the norms: choose the ‘I can’ part when the outer world forces someone to believe, ‘You can’t win.’ But, there’s something deeper in the ad – something that speaks to Nike’s own troubles in the recent past.

Take a look back to Nike’s crisis last year. Nobody could have believed that the American success story would be left in the dust in such a way. The publicly traded company lost a staggering sum of $28 billion in market capitalization last year. In a single trading day, the share faced a crunch of 20 percent. But how did the decades-old company come to such turmoil? One key reason was the sudden drop in the second-quarter sales. The market didn’t take the revenue hit positively.

Nike has yet to overcome this dire situation. But the brand is trying hard, as it has promoted the key part in the promotional anthem, “You can’t win. So win.” And the sportswear giant’s athlete roster – with names like Sha’Carri Richardson – has been playing its role to ensure its return to the top. 

Sha’Carri Richardson is paying back Nike beautifully 

In March last year, when Richardson inked her contract with Nike – valued at around $20 million for five years – some skeptics questioned whether Nike would really make such a risky investment in her, considering her perceived unpredictability. Even on social media, comments went like this: “There is no way Nike is taking a $20 million gamble on her especially with how volatile she can be. This I believe to be completely untrue.”

But in months, the skepticism came to an end. Sha’Carri Richardson punched her Olympic ticket for the women’s 100m event. Also, in the Paris Olympics, she claimed the silver medal in the event, her first one in the Olympics. And she didn’t stop there.

As SCR stepped up in the women’s 4x100m relay event and the anchor leg, she put her best foot forward to win the event. Her performance secured Team USA the Olympic gold in the event and earned Nike the marketing advantage of being the sponsor. However, it was not limited to Sha’Carri’s victory only when it came to gaining something for Nike. Even her loss in the women’s 200m race in the US Olympic trials helped the brand spot a diamond in the rough.

Last year, in the US Olympic trials, Brittany Brown defeated Sha’Carri in the women’s 200m trial event. The result earned her a pro deal from Nike in a few days of the event ending. And how did Brittany pay back?

In the French capital, she claimed the bronze in the women’s 200m event. Hold on! Brittany had another phenomenal achievement. In September last year, she defeated Gabby Thomas at the inaugural Athlos meet to win the women’s 100m event. Didn’t Nike get a boost from those fireworks? You can surely guess. And now again, women athletes are at the forefront again, all to Nike’s advantage.