After shelling out $100 million to cover Rory McIlroy in their swoosh, you'd have thought Nike would have wanted to see one of the most popular golfers in the world covered in the tick during the most broadcasted event in the world.
But Nike missed out big on covering McIlroy in their gear for the Olympics.
The Olympics Council of Ireland secured a deal with New Balance for between one and two million euro to be the manufacturer of all of the Irish Olympian gear. Olympics rules dictate that competitors can only wear team gear as selected by the national council - meaning that McIlroy will now not be wearing the traditional Nike shirts, hat, sunglasses, or belt.
The only Nike equipment that McIlroy will be allowed will be his 'technical equipment' - aka his clubs and his golf shoes.
And Nike had the chance to avoid this error when the OCI went to the US firm to see if they would manufacture the Irish kit. OCI boss Pat Hickey revealed how Nike's error came about and how they reacted:
Before Rory decided whether he'd declare for Team GB or Ireland, we put our team gear out to contract.
Just in case he declared for us, we went to Nike in the UK and told them we might have Rory. But they just dismissed us out of hand and now they regret it, I believe.
I'm told that the Nike guys nearly collapsed when they heard what happened and that they'd missed a golden opportunity.
Nike clearly thought that McIlroy would choose to represent Great Britain - but didn't get the contract to produce their gear either. Adidas revealed the Team GB outfits at a press conference on Wednesday.
See Also: Rory McIlroy Missed A Huge Piss-Up With Jordan Spieth And Rickie Fowler For A Most Noble Reason
Picture credit: Ramsey Cardy / SPORTSFILE
