Deandre Hopkins’ Miracle Catch Netted Nike $5.7 MILLION In Free Marketing

Hey, have ya seen the miraculous Deandre Hopkins catch from the Kyler Murray hail mary? No?! Well, Nike has. And something tells me Adidas has too:

Sportico– 

Despite being in what many fans and analysts are calling the play of the year, DeAndre Hopkins’ Hail Mary moment will not result in the same marketing and advertisement treatment that Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-handed catch received in 2014. Although Hopkins was wearing a Jordan Brand glove, he is not a Nike athlete.

The viral photo of Hopkins grabbing the ball over the outstretched hands of the Buffalo Bills defenders has helped Jordan Brand get $5.7 million in media exposure from social media, TV and print, according to Apex Marketing. 

Hopkins, who was an Adidas athlete up until earlier this year, has not been posted by Adidas, Nike or Jordan social media accounts.

“He’s just a huge fan of Jordan, so he did this on his own volition,” a Nike spokesperson said.

That’s $5.7 million-worth of free advertising for Nike. Of course the sad irony is that Nike is the last company on earth that needs free marketing. At the very least, they need to send DeAndre a PACKED fruit basket. Throw a couple iPod nanos in there, some caramal turtles, and maybe a pair of tickets to Blue Man Group? Pony up, Nike. Do the right thing. Just do it.

This article says that the Odell catch only netted Nike $2.2 million in marketing exposure. That’s bonkers. That catch seems far more iconic than the Hopkins catch, but maybe that’s because Hop’s catch is so recent? The Odell catch defined him at a very early point in his career. You watch it today, tomorrow, 10 years from now, it holds up:

Hop’s catch was amazing, no doubt. But he’s obscured by all the defenders draped around him. It doesn’t provide for the same frozen memorialization as Odell’s. Put it this way: that Odell catch makes a GREAT statue outside Metlife stadium. Not sure the Hop catch makes a great statue.

I guess that’s just how much more pervasive social media marketing is today. The ability for big companies like Nike to market through retweeted sports highlights today, versus in 2014, is nuts. They can just sit back and let their athletes do their thing, then watch as the fans do the work for them. And Hopkins isn’t even one of their athletes!!!!

Send the gift basket, Nike.