10% More Than in 2014: Nike Dominates 2018 World Cup Boots

Now that the 2018 World Cup is well underway, we decided to take a look at which brands dominate the scene in terms of players signed. While Adidas narrowly leads the pack in team kit deals, Nike has almost two thirds of the 736 players active in Russia at the moment under contract.

According to Football Boots DB data, a site that has info on the boots of 733 of the 736, Nike supplies cleats for 465 players (63.4%), with Adidas at just 196 (26.7%). Puma (41), Mizuno (10), Umbro (7), New Balance (6), Under Armour (3), Lotto and Asics (both 2) finish the rankings.

It's a similar picture if we look at football boot models, where Nike's Mercurial (215, more than the whole of Adidas(!)) and Magista shoes lead the pack ahead of the Adidas X (86). Next in line are the Nike Tiempo, Adidas Predator, Nike Hypervenom and Adidas Nemeziz.

Football Boots DB also have info on the top goalscoring boots of the tournament, and with the first half of matchday 1 in the group stages almost through, the Nike Mercurial unsurprisingly leads there as well, with 8 goals. Next up are two Adidas boots with 3 each, the Predator and the X.

How did it change compared to 2014?

If we look at the 2014 World Cup, Nike's massive share looks even more impressive. Compared to back then, the Swoosh added another ten percent to its stock, with Adidas losing a similar amount. The share of the small brands also decreased, from 12 in 2014 to 10% now.

Are you surprised to see Nike has this many World Cup players under contract? Drop us a line below.