Declan Rice's boot deal mystery: Why Arsenal & England star could be set for shock adidas split

Rice initially caused a stir among boot-spotters in late August when he ditched his usual adidas COPA Pures in Arsenal training and instead donned a pair of Nike's new white, red and gold Tiempo Maestri.

These things rarely go unnoticed, and the shock switch-up was immediately taken by industry heads as an indication that the midfielder is about to end his seven-year association with the Three Stripes.

Whether he swaps adidas for Nike remains to be seen, but that would actually signal a return to the Swoosh for Rice. The 27-year-old began his career as a Nike athlete, notably wearing Tiempos throughout his breakthrough years at West Ham before signing with adidas in 2019.

The Tiempo, then, is a boot he will be very familiar with, and as Nike's equivalent to adidas' heritage COPA silo for players who seek comfort and control, it would be a natural alternative.

However, a return to Nike is not the only option on the table, and it seems the England international is prepared to do his research before committing to a lucrative new boot deal.

Having been spotted wearing Nike boots in Arsenal training in August, Rice made a brief return to his COPAs before he was subsequently pictured in an unbranded whiteout pair of boots at London Colney earlier in September. Presumably due to contractual obligations, he has continued to wear his adidas boots in matches.

Eagle-eyed experts soon identified the mystery silhouette as something far more left-field than Nike's Tiempo. Instead of the mainstream options on the market, they are believed to be Under Armour's new Magneto 6 boots which dropped at the end of August.

Wearing white or blackout boots is usually a sure-fire sign that something is afoot with regard to a player's outfitter, with a contract coming to an end or a parting of ways agreed, and this was another example of Rice weighing up his options ahead of what looks certain to be a move away from adidas.

At this stage, it's not clear what has motivated Rice's imminent changeup from the German sportswear behemoth. After seven years, it's possible he simply wants a change, or the move could point to some dissatisfaction with the commercial conditions of his current deal.

While the midfielder is one of the faces of adidas' less flashy COPA line and has appeared in various advertising campaigns down the years, it is difficult to argue the case that he is one of their most prominent athletes. On the men's side of the game, those roles, for now at least, are seemingly reserved for superstars Lionel Messi, Lamine Yamal and Jude Bellingham.

In a recent example, Rice was conspicuously absent from adidas' slick, five-minute-long World Cup short film, 'Backyard Legends', which featured Hollywood superstar Timothee Chalamet and the Three Stripes' trio of figureheads alongside the likes of Ousmane Dembele, Pedri, Raphinha and Florian Wirtz. That was also the case before Euro 2024, as his compatriot and fellow midfielder Bellingham took centre stage in adidas' pre-tournament campaign.

Although Rice is known as a big character with a likeable personality in the Premier League, there is a sense that his global profile hasn't reached the level of some of his peers despite his status as one of the finest midfielders on the planet. It's possible the 27-year-old feels a new boot supplier could change that.

While adidas' roster is stacked with those names we've just mentioned and many more, Rice would immediately become one of the biggest names among either Nike or Under Armour's raft of athletes, and that could well influence his decision.

It could also be the case that the decision to cut ties has been taken by the supplier, rather than Rice himself, potentially for financial reasons if adidas do not feel they are getting bang for their buck commercially.

A player will be informed that they will not be offered an extension during the final year of their deal, according to The Athletic, and it is also often the case that a brand will scale back its funding and promotion of a client who is expected to part company.

That would go some way to explaining Rice's absence from adidas' recent campaigns as he seemingly reaches the end of his agreement with adidas, with various other big-name stars prioritised over him.

In the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic, Nike ended their agreements with a number of elite footballers in a strategic move to instead focus their attentions on their biggest names commercially, such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Kylian Mbappe and Marcus Rashford.

Sources also told The Athletic that some elite footballers look elsewhere because they "require more attention and promotion than they have sometimes received from the largest brands", which could certainly be true in Rice's case if he feels he has been undervalued by the sportswear giant.

Money, of course, will almost inevitably be a factor. At their most lucrative, boot deals can be worth the equivalent of 10-15% of a player's earnings from their club. If there are better terms on offer elsewhere, it would be little surprise for heads to be turned.

There has also been a trend of players seeking out and revelling in having more autonomy over their image in recent years.

Real Madrid superstar Vinicius Junior wore blacked out Nike boots in 2022 in an act of defiance against the American sportswear giant and the unsatisfactory fresh terms on offer after his contract with the manufacturer expired. At the time, a source told The Athletic that Vini wanted to find an outfitter that was "willing to invest in his brand through campaigns and activation worldwide". Ultimately, Nike would cough up.

More recently, it has been claimed that Mbappe - the new face of Nike Football in the modern era with Ronaldo in the twilight of his career - could sensationally walk away from the Swoosh after two decades to sign with an "unknown" market disruptor (rumoured to be Swiss running specialists ON), where he will have a stake in the company, an influence on product strategy and the freedom to co-design his own line of signature boots.

On a lesser scale, many players will also be drawn to the prospect of fronting one of the second-tier suppliers like PUMA, Under Armour, New Balance or Mizuno on what would likely be a very lucrative deal. All of those brands are building up strong rosters of athletes, with Neymar, Kai Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Ibrahima Konate among those to have left either Nike or adidas behind in recent years.

Meanwhile, others choose to go it alone. Bayern Munich and France sensation Michael Olise famously doesn't even have a boot deal, while former Arsenal defender Hector Bellerin previously bought his own online.

However, an adidas renewal for Rice shouldn't be ruled out. In the past we've seen players trial other options or black their boots out before penning new terms with their original outfitter, including Erling Haaland and, as we've mentioned, Vini Jr.

By chopping and changing, the Arsenal man is certainly keeping everyone on their toes. Watch this space.

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