Adidas Is Saying Goodbye to Germany After 70 Years — and Turning the Loss Into a Marketing Moment

Adidas releases its final Germany national team jersey on 3 November, closing a roughly 70-year partnership with the DFB before Nike takes over from 2027 — and rather than go quietly, adidas is marketing the farewell as a legacy moment.

The German Football Association announced back in March 2024 that Nike would become its kit supplier from 2027, ending a relationship with adidas that stretches back some seven decades. The last adidas Germany shirt — a classic white-and-black design — arrives on 3 November 2026. On paper, it's a defeat: adidas lost its home-nation contract to its biggest global rival.

The smart move: market the ending

Instead of letting the handover pass in silence, adidas has leaned into the history. It stitched a commemorative label into the inner hem of the 2026 home shirt worn at the World Cup, and ran a short film, 'The Great Debate', in which German greats including Manuel Neuer and Jürgen Klinsmann argue over the best Germany jersey of all time. The final release is being framed not as a loss, but as the close of a shared story.

Why this is the right play

Endings are among the most emotionally powerful moments a brand ever gets — and most brands waste them. A company that simply loses a contract and stops talking hands the narrative, and the goodwill, straight to its successor. By owning the farewell, adidas does three things at once: it reminds a generation of fans how much of their emotional history it authored, it frames Nike as the newcomer rather than the natural heir, and it converts decades of equity into a final burst of attention and merchandise demand.

Marketing Minute's read: how to market an ending

Every business eventually ends something — a product line, a store, a sponsorship, a partnership. The instinct is to go quiet and hope nobody notices. That's backwards. A well-handled ending can earn more love than a routine launch, because it gives customers permission to feel something and to say goodbye. The playbook: acknowledge the history honestly, celebrate what it meant to the people who lived it, and give them one last thing to hold — a final edition, a commemorative detail, a moment of thanks. Done well, an ending becomes a legacy asset you carry into whatever comes next.

For a small business, this scales down perfectly. Retiring a beloved product or closing a location? Don't let it slip away. Tell the story, thank the regulars, release a final run. You'll be remembered for how you left, not just how you arrived.

Most brands are brilliant at hello and terrible at goodbye. They launch with fireworks and then let things end in an awkward silence. Adidas is doing the opposite — turning a lost contract into a love letter. Never waste an ending. Handled with honesty and heart, a goodbye can build more loyalty than any launch. — Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing

A brand that loses a contract and goes quiet gifts the goodwill to its successor. Own your endings — they're the most emotional marketing you'll ever get for free.

When your business last ended something — a product, a store, a partnership — did you mark it, or let it slip away?

If you would like to know more about this topic, please contact us on danieln@merxmarketing.co.uk

Sources: House of Heat, Yahoo Sports, SGI Europe and DFB/adidas announcements.

Written by Daniel Nikolla, Founder of Merx Marketing Ltd and Marketing Minute