Nike has released its first 30th anniversary "Just Do It" ad featuring Colin Kaepernick, and it leans into the controversy stirred this week when the ousted NFL star and frequent target of President Donald Trump was announced as the face of the campaign.
The video features imagery seemingly designed to raise the US president's ire, including Muslim and refugee athletes.
"Don't become the best basketball player on the planet. Be bigger than basketball," Kaepernick says at another point in the advert as footage shows NBA great LeBron James - one of the sporting world's highest profile Trump critics - opening his "I Promise" school.
"Believe in something, even if it means sacrificing everything," Kaepernick says as the camera turns on him.
The campaign has already spurred rigorous debate, calls for boycotts and videos posted on social media of people burning their Nike apparel.
The former San Francisco 49ers quarterback is known mainly for taking a knee during the national anthem at the beginning of games, starting a wave of protests among NFL players of police brutality, racial inequality and other social issues.
Mr Trump has loudly urged the league to suspend or fire players who demonstrate during the anthem, repeatedly diving into what has developed into one of the most contentious debates in sports.
Kaepernick already had a deal with Nike that was set to expire, but it was renegotiated into a multiyear deal to make him one of the faces of the 30th anniversary campaign, according to a person familiar with the contract
Nike is expected to feature Kaepernick on several platforms, including billboards, television commercials and online ads. Nike also will create an apparel line for Kaepernick, including a signature shoe, and contribute to his Know Your Rights charity, the person said. The deal puts Kaepernick in the top bracket of NFL players with Nike.
Last week, Kaepernick scored a legal victory in his grievance against the NFL and its 32 teams when an arbitrator allowed his case to continue to trial. The quarterback claims that owners conspired to keep him out of the league because of his protests. His case hinges on whether owners worked together rather than decided individually to not sign Kaepernick.
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