NOBULL made a big mistake with its most recent social media post that targets company-wide layoffs at Nike. The NFL-backed sports apparel brand openly mocked its competitor after doing the exact same thing just 14 months ago.
It’s a tough look.
NOBULL, which replaced Reebok as the presenting sponsor of the NFL Combine in 2022, describes itself as a “footwear, apparel and accessory brand for people who train hard and don’t believe in excuses.” The company was founded in 2015 and focuses primarily on athletic wear. Tom Brady also merged TB12 and BRADY Brand with NOBULL back in January.
NOBULL and Nike are in the same market. The latter might be slightly more tailored to everyday wear in addition to its training gear, but they are essentially the same.
There is now beef between them!
Nike laid off a large number of high-ranking employees earlier this week as reports started to circulate about Phil Knight’s large donations to the University of Oregon’s NIL fund. 32 vice presidents, 112 senior directors and 174 directors were let go. The workforce was reduced by about 2%.
NOBULL took its competitor’s misfortune as an opportunity to kick them while they were down. It also tried to recruit some of the ex-Nike employees who were cut.
Dear Ex-Nike Employees,
We are so sorry about your recent news. At NOBULL, we believe adversity builds character: when you get knocked down, you get back up; when one door closes, another one opens – and our doors at NOBULL are always open.
We are building something really special here at NOBULL, led by serial entrepreneur Repole Stable
and Tom Brady, and we know it’s PEOPLE who build brands and make the biggest difference to the success of the company.Congrats on a historic and epic run for both you and Nike, but even great athletes like Tom Brady and iconic brands like Nike eventually retire!
You have all played a huge role in the past, but now it’s your chance to join our team and play a huge role in the future – by building the next epic and iconic brand.
If you’re interested in joining TEAM NOBULL or just need someone to talk to, please reach out to [email protected] or our summer intern [email protected]. LFG.
— @nobull on X
The tongue-in-cheek post was rather off-putting by itself. Especially when you come to realize that a lot of its copy is replicated on previous posts and on the company website.
However, the optics get even worse when you consider fairly recent history. NOBULL cut 35% of its workforce during surprising, sweeping layoffs in May of 2023. There was no warning. Employees were entirely caught off guard.
Nike did not respond to NOBULL’s mass sacking with a sassy quip about brand building or new opportunity. Rather, the Swoosh stayed silent. There was no reason to comment.
Now that the script is flipped, NOBULL is taking a needless shot at Nike. That’s not cool!