On Has More Than Doubled Since Its IPO. Now It's Signed Mbappe From Nike to Launch Football

Key Takeaways

• On (NYSE: ONON), the fast-growing Swiss sportswear brand, is launching football, and has signed superstar Kylian Mbappe away from Nike to lead it, ending his roughly 20-year relationship with the American giant.
• It's not a normal endorsement: Mbappe is reported to be taking equity (a stake) in On plus his own signature "sub-brand", echoing tennis legend Roger Federer's landmark 2019 deal with On.
• The Federer playbook worked: Federer took a stake and helped On grow into a roughly $11 billion company. Mbappe's deal is the same "athlete-as-owner" model, aimed at cracking football the way On disrupted running and tennis.
• The honest catch: football boots are a brutally competitive market dominated by Nike, Adidas and Puma, On has never made one, star signings are expensive, and On's stock already trades at a premium valuation, so a lot of growth is priced in.
• The takeaway: a marquee signing is exciting marketing, but it doesn't guarantee success in a tough new market, or a good return at the current share price.
• Research it your way: you can invest in global stocks and ETFs from just $1 with zero commission on the Nemo.money app.

In one of the biggest shake-ups in sports marketing in years, On, the fast-rising Swiss sportswear brand, is making a dramatic move into football, and it has lured one of the sport's biggest stars, Kylian Mbappe, away from Nike to lead the charge. It's a statement of ambition from a company that has gone from trail-running upstart to global challenger in barely 15 years, and it throws down the gauntlet to the giants of the football-boot world.

For investors, a bold move like this raises real questions: is it a masterstroke or an expensive gamble, and what does it mean for On's stock? This guide breaks down the signing, the clever "athlete-as-owner" model behind it (pioneered with Roger Federer), and the honest risks. It's educational, not investment advice. If it prompts you to research the theme, you can explore global stocks and ETFs from just $1 with zero commission on the Nemo.money app.

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What Just Happened

The move is a genuine landmark in the sportswear world:

• ⚽ On is launching football. On (NYSE: ONON) made its name in trail running, then disrupted the broader running and fitness market with its distinctive "CloudTec" shoes, before expanding into lifestyle and tennis. Football is its boldest new frontier yet, and its first-ever football boot.
• 👟 It signed Mbappe from Nike. To lead the push, On signed Kylian Mbappe, one of football's biggest and most marketable stars, ending a partnership with Nike that stretched back to when he was a child. Landing a name this big instantly gives On's football launch global attention.
• 🧨 A blow to Nike. Losing a marquee athlete like Mbappe to a smaller, upstart rival is a symbolic hit for Nike, which is already navigating a tough turnaround, and a sign of how far On has risen.

A Quick History: How On Began, and Why It's Different

On was founded in Zurich in 2010 by former professional triathlete Olivier Bernhard, together with David Allemann and Caspar Coppetti. Frustrated that no existing shoe gave him both a soft landing and an explosive push-off, Bernhard famously experimented by gluing pieces of a garden hose to the sole of a running shoe, a rough prototype that became On's patented "CloudTec" cushioning (the hollow pods on the sole), and the feeling of "running on clouds" that gave the brand its name.

That origin is the key to why On feels different from Nike and Adidas. Rather than a decades-old giant built on mass-market scale and heritage, On is a young, engineering-led, premium challenger that grew up in the direct-to-consumer, social-media era. It leans on a distinctive, patented technology and a clean Swiss-design aesthetic, sells heavily at full price (avoiding the constant discounting common in sportswear), and has expanded deliberately, category by category (running, then lifestyle, then tennis, now football), rather than trying to be everything at once. In short, where Nike and Adidas are giant incumbents, On is the fast-growing disruptor, which is exactly what makes its move into football so bold.

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The Clever Part: The "Athlete-as-Owner" Playbook

Here's what makes this more than just a big-money endorsement, and it's a genuinely interesting business model.

• 🤝 Mbappe gets equity, not just a fee. Rather than a standard "wear our boots for cash" deal, Mbappe is reported to be taking an ownership stake in On, plus his own signature "sub-brand". That aligns his incentives with the company's success, he wins if On wins.
• 🎾 It's the Roger Federer model. This mirrors On's landmark 2019 deal with tennis legend Roger Federer, who didn't just endorse On but took an equity stake and co-created products (like "The Roger" line). As On's value soared, Federer's stake reportedly became worth far more than any normal sponsorship, a famous win-win, and part of a wider shift in tennis and sport toward athletes taking equity, not just cash.
• 🏀 Echoes of Air Jordan. The deeper template is Michael Jordan's Nike partnership, which turned a signature line ("Air Jordan") into a multi-billion-dollar brand, and made Jordan vastly wealthier than a normal endorsement ever could. On is betting the same magic can work in football with Mbappe.
• 💡 The investing insight. This model is a reminder of a powerful idea: ownership beats a salary. The athletes who build the most wealth increasingly take equity in the brands they promote, sharing in the upside they help create, a step beyond the traditional sponsorship deals that pay stars to promote brands. It's the same principle behind why investing (owning a piece of a business) can matter more than simply earning.

What It Means for On's Stock

The Mbappe coup is a marketing triumph, but a triumph and a good investment are not automatically the same thing. Here's the balanced view, and ONON is an example to research, not a recommendation:

• 🚀 The bull case. On is one of the fastest-growing sportswear brands in the world, with strong sales momentum, a premium brand, and a proven record of successfully entering new categories (running, then tennis, now football). Its shares have risen strongly since its 2021 IPO (trading well above their listing price, though with plenty of volatility along the way), reflecting that rapid growth. Mbappe could turbo-charge its brand awareness globally, especially with football's vast, worldwide audience, and open a huge new market. And unlike many hot fitness names, such as HYROX, which is privately owned and not directly investable, On is publicly listed, so ordinary investors can research and buy it.
• 🐻 The bear case. On has never made a football boot, and football is a fiercely competitive market long dominated by Nike, Adidas and Puma, dislodging them is extremely hard. Signing a superstar like Mbappe is very expensive, pressuring margins, and there's execution risk in launching credible products. Crucially, On's stock already trades at a premium ("growth") valuation, meaning a lot of success is arguably already priced in, and any stumble could hit the shares.
• ⚖️ The verdict: unknowable today. Whether this is a masterstroke or an overpriced gamble depends on execution, and on whether On can turn Mbappe's star power into real, profitable football sales. That will take time to prove.

The Honest Risks

• ⚠️ A brutal new market. Football boots are dominated by entrenched giants (Nike, Adidas, Puma). Breaking in, and building credibility with players and fans, is genuinely difficult.
• ⚠️ Execution risk. On has never made a football boot. A big-name signing doesn't guarantee a great product, or that players and buyers will switch.
• ⚠️ Expensive ambition. Superstar deals and a new product category cost a lot, which can pressure profits in the near term.
• ⚠️ A premium valuation. As a fast-growing favourite, On's shares trade at a rich valuation. That leaves little room for disappointment, and makes the stock more volatile if growth slows.
• ⚠️ A signing is not a strategy (or a profit). Marquee marketing generates buzz, but buzz is not the same as sustained sales, or a good return at today's price.

The takeaway: On signing Mbappe from Nike is a spectacular, headline-grabbing move that shows just how far this Swiss challenger has come, and its "athlete-as-owner" model is genuinely smart. But entering football is hard, the ambition is expensive, and the stock is already priced for success. Admire the coup, then research the business and the price.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Why did On sign Kylian Mbappe?

On, the fast-growing Swiss sportswear brand, signed Kylian Mbappe from Nike to headline its new move into football (soccer), its first time making football boots. Landing one of the world's biggest football stars instantly gives On's launch global attention and credibility, and helps it challenge the entrenched giants (Nike, Adidas, Puma) in a huge market. The deal reportedly gives Mbappe equity in On plus his own signature sub-brand, echoing On's successful model with Roger Federer.

What is the "athlete-as-owner" model?

It's a deal where a star athlete takes an ownership stake (equity) in a brand, rather than just a flat endorsement fee, so they share in the company's growth. On pioneered this in 2019 with tennis legend Roger Federer, who took a stake and co-created products; as On's value soared, his stake reportedly became worth far more than a normal sponsorship. Mbappe's On deal reportedly follows the same template. The classic example is Michael Jordan's "Air Jordan" line with Nike. It reflects a broader idea: ownership can build far more wealth than a salary.

Is On (ONON) a good investment?

That depends entirely on your own research, goals and risk tolerance, and this isn't advice. On is one of the fastest-growing sportswear brands, with strong momentum, a premium brand and a record of entering new categories successfully, and the Mbappe signing could boost its global profile. But football is a brutally competitive market On has never operated in, star signings are expensive, execution is unproven, and the stock trades at a premium valuation that already prices in a lot of growth. An exciting signing doesn't guarantee a good return at the current price.

How did Roger Federer's On deal work?

In 2019, tennis legend Roger Federer partnered with On not as a traditional paid ambassador, but as an investor and collaborator, taking an equity stake and helping design products (including his signature "The Roger" line). As On grew rapidly and went public, Federer's stake reportedly became worth far more than a conventional endorsement would have paid. It's widely cited as a model example of the "athlete-as-owner" approach, and the template On is reportedly using with Mbappe.

Can On really compete with Nike and Adidas in football?

It's a huge challenge. Football boots have long been dominated by Nike, Adidas and Puma, who have deep relationships with players, clubs and fans, and On has never made a football boot before. Signing Mbappe gives On instant attention and credibility, but building genuinely competitive products, winning over players and buyers, and doing so profitably, is difficult and will take time. On disrupted running and tennis, so it's not impossible, but success is far from guaranteed.

Final Thoughts: A Dazzling Signing, but the Hard Work Starts Now

On poaching Kylian Mbappe from Nike to launch its football ambitions is a genuine statement, a sign of how a Swiss trail-running upstart has become a global sportswear force in little more than a decade. The "athlete-as-owner" model it is using, giving Mbappe equity and his own sub-brand, is genuinely smart, echoing the win-win it created with Roger Federer and the blueprint of Air Jordan. It even carries a neat investing lesson: real wealth tends to come from owning, not just earning.

But a spectacular signing and a spectacular investment are different things. On is entering the most competitive corner of the sportswear world, against giants who have owned it for decades, with a product it has never made before, and its stock already trades at a valuation that assumes lots more success. None of that means On will fail, it has disrupted markets before, but it means the excitement of the headline must be weighed against the difficulty of the task and the price of the shares. Admire the ambition, then do the sober homework, on the business, the execution, and the valuation. In investing, as in football, the announcement is the easy part; delivering is what counts.

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