Roger Federer surprised almost everyone in the sports world when he left Nike in 2018. After nearly twenty-five years with one of the biggest brands on the planet, people expected him to sign another massive deal. Instead, he did something nobody saw coming. He joined a small Swiss startup called ON, a company making running shoes with hollow soles that looked strange to anyone seeing them for the first time. To most people, the move didn’t make any sense. But for Federer, it was one of the smartest decisions he ever made.

For decades, Federer wasn’t just a Nike athlete. He became one of their most valuable brands. His style and presence turned the RF logo into something premium. Fans didn’t just buy his gear because they liked tennis. They bought it because it made them feel elevated. That’s why it came as a shock when Nike didn’t push harder to keep him. When his 10-year, $100 million contract ended, Nike hesitated. They assumed he needed them more than they needed him, even though he was still one of the most influential athletes on the planet. The hesitation told Federer everything he needed to know. His value hadn’t decreased. It had simply shifted.

Federer wasn’t chasing another huge paycheck. He wanted something Nike wasn’t offering him. He wanted real ownership, equity, and a voice inside the company he represented. So instead of waiting for Nike to make up their mind, he made his own. He walked away and placed a bold, long-term bet on ON.

The story of ON starts in 2010 with three Swiss athletes: Oliver Bernhard, David Alleman, and Caspar Coppetti. Bernhard, a former Ironman champion, felt that running shoes had stopped evolving. He began experimenting in his backyard, cutting up pieces of garden hose and attaching them to prototypes. The goal was simple. Create a shoe that felt soft when your foot hit the ground but gave you a burst of energy when you pushed off. The shoes looked odd, and the hollow soles made people skeptical. But the founders noticed what big brands were ignoring. Runners wanted lighter shoes, more comfort, and less impact on their joints without losing speed. This became ON’s signature idea: a running shoe that felt like you were running on clouds.

ON didn’t rely on celebrity endorsements or loud marketing. They focused on Swiss engineering and performance that athletes could actually feel. Their clean design and precision slowly started winning awards and building a loyal community of runners. By the time Federer discovered the company, ON wasn’t mainstream yet, but it had something valuable. People loved the product the moment they tried it.

Federer didn’t just invest casually. Reports say he put in roughly $54 million and became deeply involved in shaping the company. He helped with the product, the branding, and the global strategy. He wasn’t acting like an athlete collecting a check. He was moving like a founder.

In 2020, ON released the Roger Pro. It sold out right away and created real momentum. For a tennis shoe from a young brand, the response was impressive. It showed that ON could stretch beyond running and enter the lifestyle market. The elegance, minimalism, and Swiss feel of the brand all had Federer’s influence written all over them.

Then came September 2021. ON went public with a valuation of $11.3 billion. Suddenly Federer’s small three percent stake was worth more than $300 million. That moment officially made him a billionaire, not because of his tennis career or even his decades-long partnership with Nike, but because he bet early on a startup that most people underestimated.

Today, ON is everywhere. The company now brings in over $1.8 billion a year and continues to grow rapidly around the world. You can see Federer’s impact in almost every major decision the brand makes. People often think he walked away from money when he left Nike. The truth is that he walked toward something bigger. He wanted ownership, long-term upside, and the chance to help build a company that reflected his own values.

Roger Federer didn’t choose the biggest paycheck. He chose the biggest opportunity. And that choice turned a small Swiss running brand into one of the most exciting footwear companies in the world.

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