- Oakley tapped NBA star Jaylen Brown and Real Madrid forward Kylian Mbappé as the faces of its latest Players Collection, which launched globally on May 5, 2026, covering both eyewear and sportswear.
- Brown co-designed an exclusive cocoa brown apparel line alongside his Oakley Highland Signature Series eyewear featuring Prizm Ruby Lenses, while Mbappé's Permian Signature Series frames include his personal logo and the coordinates of his hometown of Bondy etched on the temple.
- The collection is available on Oakley's e-commerce site and at select Oakley stores worldwide.
- This marks Jaylen Brown's first-ever traditional brand partnership. He signed with Oakley in February 2025 while Mbappé has been an Oakley global ambassador since January 2022.
Oakley has tapped two of its athletes to be the faces of its latest eyewear and sportswear collections. The latest iteration of the Oakley Players Collection features Jaylen Brown of the Boston Celtics and Kylian Mbappé of Real Madrid.
Brown’s offering includes the Oakley Highland Jaylen Brown Signature Series eyewear with Prizm Ruby Lenses and an exclusive cocoa brown apparel range co-designed with the brand, spanning a parka, vest, tee, cargo short, pants, sneakers, cap, and utility bag.
This represents Brown’s first major traditional brand partnership. He signed with Oakley in February 2025, having famously turned down over $50 million in deals to first build his own brand, 741 Performance, which launched its debut shoe, The Rover, in October 2024.
Beyond Oakley, Brown holds current partnerships with Pepsi and Beats by Dre. On the court, Brown is a 2024 NBA Finals MVP who led the Celtics to their 18th championship and is currently competing in the 2026 NBA Playoffs.
For Mbappé, his Permian Signature Series features a deep-set lens construction with Prizm Road Lenses, his personal logo on the lens, and the coordinates of Bondy, the Paris suburb where he grew up, etched along the temple.
Oakley first onboarded Mbappé as a global brand ambassador in January 2022. Off the pitch, Mbappé has been expanding his brand footprint. Just as he recently became the first wellness ambassador for Fairmont Hotels & Resorts, he also fronted Dior’s Spring/Summer 2026 menswear campaign.
The Oakley Players Collection drop follows the brand’s broader athlete-driven push that has included signing Travis Scott as its inaugural Chief Visionary in November 2025 and partnering with Patrick Mahomes, Justin Jefferson, and Damian Lillard.
The cross-sport pairing of Brown and Mbappé mirrors the same athlete-meets-lifestyle strategy seen when Miles McBride partnered with Vuori for a new campaign, sportswear brands leaning into culturally relevant athletes to reach broader audiences.
The Players Collection is available now on Oakley’s e-commerce site, at select Oakley stores, and at global retail accounts.
Takeaways
This campaign is a masterclass in cross-sport, cross-continent brand building. Pairing an NBA champion with the most electrifying footballer in the world isn’t just a marketing flex, it’s a calculated move by Oakley to dominate both American and global sportswear conversations simultaneously.
The fact that Jaylen Brown co-designed his apparel line (in his signature cocoa brown, no less) shows Oakley is giving its athletes real creative equity, not just a check.
Meanwhile, Mbappé embedding the coordinates of Bondy into his signature frames is the kind of authentic storytelling that turns product into cultural artifact. With the 2026 FIFA World Cup on the horizon, Mbappé’s visibility is only set to intensify, making this campaign exceptionally well-timed.
Could Jaylen Brown’s co-design role with Oakley evolve into a full creative partnership similar to Travis Scott’s Chief Visionary appointment? Does pairing an NBA and a soccer star signal Oakley’s ambition to become the dominant performance eyewear brand across all major global sports?
