German sportswear and footwear brand PUMA has signed a multi-year sponsorship deal with South Korean esports organization Gen.G Esports.
As part of the deal PUMA will provide team jerseys to all players and streamers of Gen.G South Korean division. The two will also design an exclusive co-branded apparel line. The co-branded team jersey and apparel line will be made available to the public.
According to the announcement, Gen.G’s League of Legends squad will first wear the “PUMA X Gen.G” team jersey, and compete in the League of Legends Champion Korea (LCK).
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With more high-profile non-endemic brands collaborating with esports organizations, esports is getting closer to traditional sports in terms of athletic apparel partners. Puma is already an apparel provider for North American organization Cloud9, while Nike is both a partner of fellow LCK team T1 and the Chinese League of Legends Pro League (LPL).
In March, Gen.G partnered with Han Sung Motor, an official dealer of Mercedes-Benz Korea. This was also the first deal between an esports team and a Korean import car dealer. In addition, Gen.G also has other commercial partners including McDonald’s, Benefit Cosmetics, and Bumble.