Nike signs its first eSports endorsement deal, Mercedes-Benz extends sponsorship and more

The past week has been full of good news for the world of eSports, with growing interest of big names and companies entering or increasing their investments such as Nike and Mercedes-Benz

Nike, the worlds leading sporting accessories company, headlined the news yesterday with its announcement of entering the field of esports by sponsoring one of the best players. Nike joins the list of supporters of the Chinese League of Legends team Royal Never Give Up , which despite Of its disappointing loss in the Worlds 2018 championship, their best player Jian “Uzi” Zi-Hao will be compensated with a Nike sponsorship deal. The world’s best bottom line player is the first esports star on the list of Nike-sponsored athletes, wearing LeBron James “Shut Up and Dribble” campaign shirt in his upcoming games, renamed “Dribble and Carry”.

One of the big companies supporting the RNG team is not stopping at only League of Legends, as Mercedes-Benz has expanded its support for esports in general with Dota 2 tournaments sponsorship. According to reports, the global automobile company will extend its partnership with ESL until 2020, continuing to present its Most Valuable Player car award at upcoming tournaments starting with ESL One Hamburg.

For its part, ESL welcomed new board member Thomas Schmidt, known for his achievements in the business of marketing for the UEFA Champions League. He has worked for more than 10 years in this field as well as being part of the ESL parent company Modern Times Group for eight years.

There is no doubt that the field of esports is no longer a strange area in the world of business, so such deals and advertisements will inevitably increase day by day, which is reflected positively on the players and professional followers. We will be waiting for more news of major companies entering this area, so be sure to stick around.