Uzi Has Become the First Esports Athlete to Sign an Endorsement Deal with Nike

On the 17th of October, NikeBasketball on Weibo announced a campaign featuring Jian “Uzi” Zihao along with NBA star LeBron James and actor Bai Jingting. According to multiple sources, this is the first time Nike has ever partnered with an esports player.

The NikeBasketball Weibo featured Uzi posing with a shirt that has ‘DRIBBLE & CARRY’ printed on it. LeBron James’ shirt had ‘DRIBBLE &’ with a blank, and Bai Jingting was wearing a shirt with “DRIBBLE & 入戏” (Rù xì) written on it.

Uzi is the AD Carry of Royal Never Give Up, and is known as one of the best League of Legends players. In 2018, he won the championship in every international competition he participated in except for the World Championship. However, in the World Championship, Uzi and his team made it to the quarterfinals.