By 2018, a rolling contract with Nike Inc. — first signed in 1996 — had come up for renewal. Tennis was not a core market for Nike, allowing Godsick to test the water with other potential partners. Uniqlo, a popular brand owned by Japan’s Fast Retailing Co., offered Federer $300 million over 10 years to be one of its flagship sports icons. Federer was 37 and close to retirement and the deal had no strings attached, even if he stopped playing. It was a no-brainer.
Still, it wasn’t Federer’s most successful deal. That was an investment that came via an accidental introduction by his wife, who bought a pair of sneakers from up-and coming Swiss brand On. There are plenty of bankers and lawyers in Switzerland, but not many sports brands. Founded in 2010, On had become known as a high-end jogging shoe. Its distinctive sole, with more empty space than rubber, was based off a prototype made by co-founder Olivier Bernhard — a former pro-Ironman — taping offcuts of garden hose to the base of his trainers.