How Much Money Does a Nike Sneaker Designer Make?

The recent turmoil involving three of Nike’s top designers moving to adidas has brought to light some interesting financial figures. In the midst of Marc Dolce, Denis Dekovic and Mark Miner leaving Nike to start a design studio with adidas, court documents showing the annual salaries of the three designers have been revealed. The documents make clear that Nike placed very high value on their lead talents, as all three designers were making substantial six-figure salaries at the time of their departure. Dolce, Design Director for Nike Sportswear, earned $187,275 USD, while Dekovic, Senior Design Director of Global Soccer, made $181,290 USD, and Miner, Senior Footwear Designer for Running, earned $152,445 USD. While those numbers do not represent the typical salaries of most design professionals, they certainly point to the significant role each of the ex-designers played in creating the overall design language we see in Nike today.