Nike will make Mumbai Indians' jerseys from 2027 in a multi-year deal

Picture the next blue and gold Mumbai Indians jersey in a fan's hands. From 2027, that jersey will carry the Nike Swoosh. On 22 October 2026, Nike and Mumbai Indians announced a multi-year partnership that makes Nike the official kit partner of both the women's and men's teams, beginning with the 2027 season.

The players will not wait that long, though. Athletes and staff start wearing Nike team gear this month, and the new match kits will be shown before each team's 2027 season, as the Free Press Journal reported.

What exactly did Nike sign up for?

Nike will dress both teams, including their coaches and technical staff, for matches, training and everyday sportswear, the team's own announcement says. Fans will be able to buy the team kits and extra clothing styles inspired by the city of Mumbai.

The Economic Times called it a big step in Nike's investment in cricket. One thing is missing from every report: the price. The announcements do not say how much Nike will pay, and they do not give the exact number of years. "Multi-year" simply means the deal runs for more than one season.

What is a kit sponsor, in simple words?

Think of your school sports day. Every child wears the same T-shirt, and someone has to make all of them. Now imagine a company offers to make those T-shirts for free, or even pays the school, as long as its name sits on the front. That company is a kit sponsor.

In cricket, the kit is everything a player wears: the match jersey, trousers, training clothes and warm-up jackets. The kit partner designs and makes it, and puts its own brand on it. So every time a Mumbai Indians player hits a six on TV, millions of people also see the brand that made the shirt.

Four cards light up one by one: Nike signs a multi-year deal, makes match kits and training wear, players wear the Swoosh, fans buy team kits — A kit deal turns one jersey into a shop window seen in every match.

Who made the jersey before Nike?

Mumbai Indians already had a kit partner. Manifest Media reported that Skechers was the team's last kit partner, and that the team has also worked with adidas in the past.

Skechers became the official kit partner in February 2024, dressing both the women's and men's teams. In 2026, it began a third season in a row with the team. So the change is a bit like a cricket team switching its bat maker: the game stays the same, but the logo on the gear changes.

Here is the official 2026 jersey video from the Mumbai Indians channel, made in the Skechers years. The 2027 kit will be the first one by Nike.

Watch on YouTube

Nike and Indian cricket go back a long way

This is not Nike's first big cricket bet in India. The Swoosh was on India's national team kit from 2006, a run of about 14 years. A 2020 report in the same paper, citing other reports, said Nike paid around ₹370 crore to renew that deal in 2016.

Now, instead of a national team, Nike is putting its name on one of the most successful teams in franchise cricket. A franchise is a team owned by a company that plays in a league, the way a chai brand can open many shops under one name. Devang Bhimjyani, head of Reliance Sports, spoke for the team in the announcement and said Nike "shares our belief in athletes and in the power of sport to inspire."

Why do sportswear brands pay to dress a team?

Two simple reasons: people see the brand, and people buy the shirt.

First, the seeing part. A TV ad lasts a few seconds in a break, when many viewers pick up their phones. A logo on a jersey is on screen for the whole match. A report by Synchronize India and Unomer, covered by Medianews4u, says team sponsors get "continuous visibility throughout the match" in a way that ad breaks cannot match.

Second, the buying part. Fans love to wear their team's colours. The Mumbai Indians announcement talks about the "millions of fans" who wear the blue and gold. When a fan buys a team kit, the shirt carries the maker's logo too. The Nike India general manager, Tarundeep Singh, said the deal is about serving athletes and helping "inspire the next generation."

How big is the money on IPL jerseys?

Very big. The same report says IPL teams earned about ₹1,300 crore from team sponsorships in the 2025 season, and every jersey spot across the teams was sold. That counts all the brand names on jerseys, sleeves, helmets and training kits, which together make more than 100 sponsor spots across the league.

A big number counts up to 1,300 crore rupees, the money IPL teams made from sponsors in 2025 — All jersey spots across IPL teams were sold in 2025.

The front of the jersey is the most wanted spot, because it gets the most screen time. Top teams now have more than 30 brand partners each, the report adds. A kit partner like Nike is a little different from a logo sponsor: it does not just rent space on the shirt, it makes the shirt itself.

The wider IPL money machine is even larger. Advertising in the 2026 season was expected to bring in ₹4,900 crore to ₹5,200 crore, and the media rights, meaning the right to show matches on TV and phones, are valued at over ₹48,000 crore.

Two bars: advertising in IPL 2026 expected at 4,900 crore rupees or more, and team sponsors in IPL 2025 at 1,300 crore rupees — Team sponsor money is one slice of a much bigger IPL brand pie.

What happens next?

The timeline is simple:

October 2026: players and staff start training in Nike gear.
Before the 2027 season: the women's and men's teams each show their new Nike match kit.
Soon: fans will be able to buy the team kits and other Mumbai-inspired styles.

Tilak Varma, an India batter who is already a Nike athlete and plays for Mumbai Indians, said in the announcement that wearing the team colours with the Swoosh will remind him "how far I've come."

The big picture

For a student, a cricket jersey might look like just a shirt. For a company, it is a moving billboard, a product on a shop shelf and a link to millions of fans, all at once. That is why a global brand signed up to make one team's clothes for several years, even before the first new kit is out.

Sources

You may republish this story under CC BY 4.0: credit Arshdeep Singh and link to this page.