Roger Federer didn’t just put his name on a pair of shoes. He invested in a young Swiss company, helped design its products and played a role in pushing the brand into professional tennis. Years later, that strategy has helped turn On into a global sportswear force — and the company is now trying to repeat the formula with football superstar Kylian Mbappé.
Athlete endorsements are usually straightforward.
A sports star signs a contract, wears the brand’s products, appears in advertising and lends their image to the company’s marketing.
Roger Federer’s relationship with Swiss sportswear company On took a very different path.
When Federer joined On in 2019, he wasn’t simply signing another endorsement deal. He became an investor and took an active role in product development, helping the company create tennis footwear and expand beyond the running market that had made it famous.
The partnership became an important chapter in both Federer’s post-Nike business career and On’s transformation into a much broader sportswear company.
And now, with football superstar Kylian Mbappé joining On in a deal involving cash and equity, the company is applying a similar philosophy to one of the world’s biggest sports.
Federer Put Money Into On Instead of Just Promoting It
Federer officially joined On in November 2019 as an investor and what the company described as a co-entrepreneur.
That distinction was important.
Rather than simply wearing On products, Federer became involved in the company’s development and helped shape what its tennis offering would eventually become.
The New York Times described his role as involving investment, product design and representing the brand.
At the time, On was best known for its distinctive CloudTec running shoes and its reputation for Swiss engineering.
Federer saw an opportunity to help take those capabilities into tennis.
“I’ve been a fan of On and its products for a while, but after talking to the founders I realised we have a lot more in common than just our Swiss roots,” Federer said when the partnership was announced.
He added that he was excited to work with On on the future of what he described as a next-generation global sports brand.
The arrangement was therefore considerably more ambitious than a conventional celebrity sponsorship.
Federer was putting his money, reputation and sporting expertise behind the company.
The Partnership Produced a New Tennis Shoe
The collaboration soon moved from business discussions to actual product development.
In July 2020, On introduced THE ROGER Centre Court, a tennis-inspired lifestyle sneaker developed around Federer’s involvement with the company.
It was an important early indication of where the partnership was heading.
But the larger objective was competitive tennis.
That next step came in March 2021 at the Qatar Open in Doha, where Federer debuted THE ROGER Pro, On’s first competition tennis shoe.
The shoe had been developed with Federer and initially was not available for consumers to purchase.
For On, the move represented more than a new product launch.
The company was attempting to establish itself in a sport where it had previously lacked a significant presence.
Federer’s involvement gave the brand an immediate connection to the highest level of professional tennis while also allowing it to use his experience to help solve the technical challenges of designing footwear for the sport.
Federer Had Already Left Nike for Uniqlo
Federer’s move into On also followed a major change in his broader apparel partnerships.
In 2018, he ended his long-running apparel relationship with Nike and signed with Uniqlo.
His relationship with On came later and focused primarily on footwear and the development of tennis products.
That timeline made Federer’s transition different from a simple head-to-toe switch from one sportswear company to another.
Instead, his relationship with On developed around investment, product creation and a long-term business partnership.
That structure eventually became one of the most interesting aspects of the collaboration.
On’s Stock-Market Debut Changed the Scale of the Story
When Federer became involved with On, the company was still a relatively young sportswear business.
Two years later, it had become a publicly traded company.
On listed its shares on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2021, and the stock surged more than 47% on its first day of trading. The company was valued at nearly $11.3 billion at the time.
The listing provided a major milestone for On’s rapid expansion.
It also made the potential financial significance of Federer’s investment much more visible.
The exact size of Federer’s original stake was not publicly disclosed. However, estimates cited in the supplied account have placed the current value of his holding at well above $500 million, following On’s subsequent growth.
The company’s valuation later moved beyond $20 billion.
Federer himself has acknowledged that On’s growth was significantly faster and larger than he initially anticipated.
That makes the partnership unusual in professional sports.
Federer wasn’t simply paid to advertise a product that became successful.
He owned part of the company while helping create the products that helped establish its identity in tennis.
Now On Is Taking the Federer Formula Into Football
On’s expansion is no longer limited to running and tennis.
The company is now preparing for a major push into football, with Kylian Mbappé at the centre of the strategy.
Mbappé ended a relationship with Nike that had begun when he was just nine years old and joined On in a deal involving both financial compensation and equity.
On plans to launch its first football boots in 2027.
The move represents a significant expansion for a company that originally built its reputation around running shoes.
Mbappé’s involvement is also being supported by another major name in football: Arsenal legend Thierry Henry, who helped recruit the French star to the company.
According to The Athletic, Nike was prepared to match the basic financial component of the agreement, while equity played an important role in On’s proposal.
For Mbappé, the opportunity was about more than simply switching footwear brands.
Like Federer before him, he has described the appeal of helping develop something from the beginning.
Federer and Mbappé Are Similar — But Their Deals Are Not Identical
It is tempting to view Mbappé as simply following Federer’s blueprint, but there are important differences between the two partnerships.
Federer’s transition away from Nike happened gradually.
Uniqlo took over his apparel partnership in 2018, while his On tennis footwear arrived several years later.
Mbappé’s move to On is more direct, with the footballer joining the company as it prepares to enter a completely new category.
The timing is also different.
Federer became involved with On in 2019, while Mbappé joined roughly seven years later as the company prepared to expand into football.
There is another distinction involving the financial side.
Federer’s investment eventually benefited from On’s public-market debut, giving investors a transparent way to track the company’s valuation.
The value of Mbappé’s equity position has not been established in the same way.
Nevertheless, the basic philosophy behind both partnerships is similar.
The athletes are being positioned as participants in building the product and the category rather than simply as celebrities wearing a logo.
From Swiss Running Shoes to a Global Sports Brand
Federer’s partnership arrived at an important moment in On’s development.
The company had already established itself in running, but tennis gave it an opportunity to broaden its identity.
Federer’s involvement helped create a recognisable tennis product line while connecting the Swiss company with one of the most successful players in the history of the sport.
Now On is attempting a similar expansion in football.
Mbappé provides global visibility, while the planned 2027 football-boot launch gives the company an opportunity to compete in one of the world’s largest sporting markets.
Henry’s involvement adds another layer of football expertise to the project.
The strategy also demonstrates how modern sports partnerships are evolving.
The biggest deals are increasingly not limited to advertising contracts. Athletes can become investors, designers, product advisers and long-term strategic partners.
Federer’s On Investment May Have Been About More Than Shoes
When Federer invested in On in 2019, the company was still primarily associated with running.
Today, it has expanded into multiple sports and built a significantly larger global business.
Federer’s role helped On establish itself in tennis, while his investment gave him a direct financial interest in the company’s success.
Now the company is attempting to reproduce that expansion in football with Mbappé.
Whether the football strategy ultimately matches the success of its tennis expansion remains to be seen.
But the underlying approach is already clear: On isn’t simply signing athletes to wear its products. It is trying to make them part of the process of building the next generation of the brand.
Federer’s $50 million investment — widely associated with his stake in the company, though the exact original investment terms have not been publicly established in the supplied account — became part of one of sportswear’s more unusual athlete-business partnerships.
And as On prepares to enter football in 2027, Mbappé could become the next major athlete helping shape where the Swiss brand goes next.
