apparel

NBA's Dwyane Wade Gets Naked In New Underwear Deal

Looks like Michael Jordan has a new challenger on the court of worldwide underwear domination: Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade is signing on with Naked, the underwear company that promises a fit “that feels as good as nothing at all.”

Beginning this summer, plans call for Wade to take part in a campaign called "Role Models," which the company says focuses on “men and women who live inspiring and authentic lives." And then in 2016, it’s scheduled to roll out the Wade signature collection of innerwear for men and boys. In addition to joining Naked’s Advisory Board, the NBA star will also serve as creative director for the line.

Wade ranks as No. 31 on Forbes most recent “Best paid athletes” list, down from No. 23 in the prior year. That includes $12 million in endorsements from such brands as Gatorade, Dove, the Tie Bar and Chinese sportswear leader Li Ning. 

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Naked, which is based in New York and also sells women’s items, says its deal is multi-year, worldwide and exclusive in the category of innerwear, which includes underwear, undershirts, loungewear, sleepwear and robes.

Men’s underwear sales have been increasing in the U.S., in part driven by slimmer pants styles, which has guys scrambling to replace boxer shorts with boxer briefs, like those sold by Naked. The overall category grew 3% to $2.7 billion in the 12 months ending in September of 2014, reports NPD Group, with boxer briefs now accounting for about 40% of the market. (Briefs are second-most popular, up 23% in the same period. And sales of plain old boxers fell 14%.) 

Sales in the category are dominated by Hanesbrands, which has been using NBA great Michael Jordan as a spokesperson for more than 25 years, as well as Berkshire Hathaway’s Fruit of the Loom, and Jockey International.

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