DeAndre Hopkins’ Viral Catch Scores $5.7 Million in Publicity for Nike’s Jordan Brand

Samantha McDonald
·2 min read
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DeAndre Hopkins isn’t a Nike athlete — but he might’ve helped the sportswear giant land millions of dollars in publicity.

According to advertising and branding consulting firm Apex Marketing, the now-viral image of the Arizona Cardinals wide receiver seizing the football while wearing a glove that bore the Swoosh’s Jordan Brand logo brought in about $5.7 million in media exposure through digital news, television and social media. (The data was initially reported by FN’s sister publication Sportico.)

Speaking with FN, Apex president Eric Smallwood compared the advertising treatment to that of former New York Giants wide receiver and Nike athlete Odell Beckham Jr.’s jaw-dropping one-handed catch versus the Dallas Cowboys in 2014. According to the exec, that moment resulted in at least $2.2 million in media exposure.

While the data for Hopkins’ play was evaluated from 6:30 p.m. ET on Sunday through 10:30 a.m. ET on Monday, the analysis for OBJ was conducted over the span of 24 hours.

Trailing by four points in Sunday’s game against the Buffalo Bills, Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray threw a Hail Mary pass in the direction of Hopkins, who was flanked by three defenders in the end zone. The wide receiver managed to secure the ball and lead Arizona to a 32-30 victory.

“This was a great moment but one that came about quite organically,” Jordan Brand global communications director John Jowers told FN.

Up until early this year, Hopkins — formerly the star receiver with the Houston Texans — was an ambassador for Adidas. He signed a multiyear deal with the Germany-based label in 2016 and became the face of its Adizero lightweight cleats franchise. According to Sportico, however, he has been spotted wearing the Jordan 1 TD Low cleat as of late.

Nike’s roster of football athletes currently includes Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey, Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald and New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley. In August, the brand teamed up with the National Football League to offer a free digital training tool dubbed 11-Online, which is designed to provide coaching support to high school- and even college-level football players who are unable to train amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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