On Wednesday June 15th, 2015, Nike signed an eight year deal with the NBA worth about $1 billion beginning in the Summer of 2017. Nike, debatably the most popular clothing company within the sports industry took over for Adidas, as the league’s jersey supplier.

Adam Silver, the commissioner of NBA, stated, “As our exclusive on court apparel provider, Nike will be instrumental in our collective efforts to grow the game globally while applying the latest in technology to the design of our uniforms and oncourt products.” The designs of the jerseys are well liked, but Nike may have have went too far with the materials of the jersey. Within the first two months of the season, six jerseys were ripped. The NBA has never experienced this problem at such an alarming rate with previous companies.

Nike used 3-D body maps which have included sweat and heat maps to have the greatest fit possible for the jerseys. Using that technology, Nike made significant changes to the weight of the jerseys. The main focus of changing the configuration of the jerseys was to allow the player wearing it to have a full range of motion. The weight of jerseys has been decreased by such a large amount that they have tendencies to rip easily.

Players experiencing the rips include stars such as Lebron James, Draymond Green,  and Ben Simmons. A statement coming from the company has claimed, “We are very concerned to see any game day tear and are working to implement a solution that involves standardizing the embellishment process and enhancing the seam strength of game day jerseys. The quality and performance of our products are of utmost importance and we are working with the NBA and teams to avoid this happening in the future.” The new Nike jerseys are partially made out of recycled bottles but promise to dry fifteen percent faster than the old Adidas jerseys. Nike will have to think fast in order solve this problem.