Skechers is teaming with Los Angeles Dodgers all-star ace Clayton Kershaw on a new multi-year partnership. The pitcher will appear in global marketing campaigns for Skechers men’s performance and athletic lifestyle footwear set to launch in 2020. Kershaw is also collaborating with the brand on several styles and recently debuted a custom exclusive baseball cleat.
“I’ve spent my entire career here in Los Angeles, so it feels perfect that I’m partnering with Skechers—a Los Angeles original since 1992,” states Kershaw. “I’ve been working with the design team on several styles, and I am extremely impressed with the performance and comfort offered by Skechers. We have some unexpected and exciting ideas that fans will love.”
“We are fortunate to have Clayton Kershaw—one of the best pitchers in baseball today—wearing Skechers,” adds Michael Greenberg, president of Skechers. “Clayton proves that the comfort and performance of Skechers footwear delivers even when you’re at the top of your game. Fans have already seen Skechers on the mound in the middle of the action, and we’ll soon follow with a full marketing campaign supporting our performance and athletic lifestyle men’s collections. Clayton’s energy, talent, and international fanbase make this partnership a home run for Skechers for years to come.”
A left-handed starter, Kershaw has spent his major league career with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Drafted seventh overall in 2006, he quickly progressed through the Dodgers’ farm system and reached the majors in 2008 at only 20 years old, making him the youngest active player in MLB for an entire year. In 2011, he won the National League Cy Young Award, becoming the youngest pitcher to accomplish the honor since Dwight Gooden in 1985. He has since won two more Cy Young Awards and was named National League Most Valuable Player in 2014. An eight-time All-Star, Kershaw has the lowest career earned run average and walks per innings pitched average among starters in the live-ball era with a minimum of 1,000 innings pitched. He led the MLB in ERA for four consecutive seasons from 2011 to 2014 and recently surpassed the legendary Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax for most wins and strikeouts by a left-handed starter in Dodgers history.
Off the field, Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, seek to serve vulnerable and at-risk children in Los Angeles, Dallas, Zambia and the Dominican Republic through “Kershaw’s Challenge,” the couple’s charitable organization. Skechers shares their commitment to children and has agreed to sponsor the Kershaw’s Challenge annual PingPong4Purpose charity event held at Dodger Stadium each summer. Kershaw has been honored with the Roberto Clemente Award and the Branch Rickey Award for his humanitarian work.
Skechers has a long history working with athletes to represent its men’s collections. The company’s extended roster of sports icons includes baseball stars like fellow Los Angeles Dodgers legend Tommy Lasorda, Pete Rose, Mariano Rivera, Ozzie Smith and David Ortiz, as well as athletes Joe Namath, Ronnie Lott, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Fox, Wayne Gretzky and Joe Montana, plus Sugar Ray Leonard, Howie Long and Tony Romo, who currently appear in Skechers campaigns.
