American rapper Jay-Z teams up with Puma and the WNBA

German sportswear giant, Puma, re-enters the basketball business after nearly 20 years on the sidelines.

Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) announced on its official Twitter handle that it has inked a partnership with Puma’s Basketball Division, marking Puma’s first deal with a professional sports league.

Contractually, Puma is set to have a league-wide sponsorship in the footwear category. And as an official sponsor, the brand is allowed to use the league’s trademarks and show WNBA players in the brand’s official uniforms.

American rapper Jay-Z has been appointed as the creative director of Puma’s basketball operations, which could explain Puma’s 15 per cent increase in sales in the second quarter on a currency-adjusted basis.

Puma Ceo, Bjorn Gulden, said: “We got very positive feedback to our plans of re-entering the Basketball category and both — the announcements of our new NBA players and the revelation of the product.” 

Puma, after the announcement, inked multiple deals with individual NBA players, including top draft picks Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley III, as well as Celtics guard Terry Rozier.