Celebrity Brand Ambassadors Who Have Jumped Ship

Four celebrity brand ambassadors who have said goodbye to prominent sportswear labels and headed right into the arms of a competitor.

Even celebrities find it hard to stay loyal to legendary brands.

1) Drake leaves Jordan Brand for Adidas

Drake is rumored to leave Nike’s Jordan Brand for Adidas. According to Sneaker Bar Detroit, the “God’s Plan” rapper was seen wandering the streets of California in a pair of Adidas Ultra Boost sneakers this month. Looks like even writing a song for Jordan Brand (“Jumpman”; released in 2015) couldn’t stop Drake from switching teams.

2) Kendrick leaves Reebok for Nike

After releasing three collaborative Reebok Club C sneakers in 2016, Kendrick Lamar made the switch to Nike in August 2017. The “HUMBLE” rapper broke the news to his fans via an Instagram post. Currently, the musician has worked with Nike to redesign the iconic Cortez silhouette. The shoe, dubbed the Kendrick Lamar x Nike Cortez “Damn”, was released in January 2018.

3) Big Sean leaves Adidas for Puma

In January 2017, rapper Big Sean left the three stripes for PUMA’s dazzling lineup of stars including Rihanna, The Weeknd and Solange Knowles. To date, the “Bounce Back” musician has fronted the campaign for the Puma Breaker and the SUPERPUMA pack. In addition, the rapper released a special edition Suede collab to commemorate the silhouette’s 50^th anniversary. The Big Sean x Suede was released earlier in March 2018.

4) Rihanna leaves Adidas for Puma

Rihanna exited Adidas for Puma, after inking a US$1 million dollar deal with the latter brand in December 2014. To date, no one knows the reason for Rihanna’s departure from Adidas, although it could well be that Puma offered a price that was right. Learn more about Rihanna’s Fenty Puma collection here.

5) Kanye West leaves Nike for Adidas

Kanye made headlines in 2013 after leaving Nike for Adidas. According to Huh Magazine, the turbulent exit was due to the rapper not receiving royalties for the collaborative Nike Air Yeezy. Not that Kanye should have any regrets; to date, the “Saint Pablo” rapper has released five versions of the coveted Adidas Yeezys, all of which have been snapped up quickly. Learn more about Kanye’s Adidas Yeezy collection here.

Know of any other celebrities who have jumped ship? Let us know in the comments section below.

Featured image: GQ, StickPNG, Wikimedia Commons, PNG All