SKECHERS USA, Inc. (NYSE:SKX) is set to partner with Howie Long—the Pro Football Hall of Famer and sports commentator known by millions—for a multi-year spokesman relationship. Long will appear in a campaign that promotes the footwear brand’s comfortable and stylish men’s collections.

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Howie Long signs on with Skechers (Photo: Business Wire)

Howie Long signs on with Skechers (Photo: Business Wire)

The celebrated commentator’s first television commercial for SKECHERS is set to launch in time for the 2016 football season. The spot will feature the new SKECHERS men’s collection and lead off a multi-tiered TV, print and digital campaign that is expected to continue across all media through 2018.

“I’m excited to be joining the SKECHERS team and following in the footsteps of so many amazing athletes and stars who have appeared on their roster,” said Howie Long. “From the field to the studio, I’ve spent a lifetime of Sundays on my feet, so it feels great to add some Skechers comfort to my wardrobe.”

“Beginning with his career in Oakland and Los Angeles to more than two decades appearing every Sunday on television during football season, Howie is a trusted and familiar face to millions of football fans,” said Michael Greenberg, president of SKECHERS. “Just like legends Joe Montana and Sugar Ray Leonard, we know that Howie is an ideal person to join our team and continue spreading the word about our incredibly popular footwear to the millions of men who love our comfort-focused collections.”

Drafted out of Villanova in 1981, Howie Long’s pro football career spanned 12 seasons as defensive end with the Raiders. He has a Super Bowl win, was an 8-time Pro Bowl team member and was named to the 1980’s NFL All-Decade team. In 2000 he was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame. After retiring in 1993, Long appeared in several movies and found a home quickly in broadcasting where he’s been a studio analyst on the FOX NFL Sunday team since the network debut in 1994. Howie is a longtime supporter of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America where he continues to volunteer. He was also named Walter Camp Man of the Year in 2001 by the Walter Camp Foundation.

Previous SKECHERS men’s campaigns have featured iconic drummer Ringo Starr and sports stars Sugar Ray Leonard, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Ronnie Lott, Mariano Rivera, Tommy Lasorda, Mark Cuban, Karl Malone, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rick Fox, Wayne Gretzky and Meb Keflezighi. Baseball great Ozzie Smith also recently appeared in a SKECHERS Relaxed Fit footwear campaign that launched on MLB opening day.

Leveraging fashionable designs and a unique SKECHERS Air-Cooled Memory Foam footbed for long-lasting comfort, styles from the SKECHERS men’s collection are available in SKECHERS retail stores as well as department stores and footwear retailers around the globe.

About SKECHERS USA, Inc.

SKECHERS USA, Inc., based in Manhattan Beach, California, designs, develops and markets a diverse range of lifestyle footwear for men, women and children, as well as performance footwear for men and women. SKECHERS footwear is available in the United States and over 160 countries and territories worldwide via department and specialty stores, more than 1,340 SKECHERS retail stores, and the Company’s e-commerce website. The Company manages its international business through a network of global distributors, joint venture partners in Asia, and 13 wholly-owned subsidiaries in Brazil, Canada, Chile, Japan, Latin America and throughout Europe. For more information, please visit skechers.com and follow us on Facebook (facebook.com/SKECHERS) and Twitter (twitter.com/SKECHERSUSA).

This announcement contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company’s future domestic and international growth, financial results and operations including expected net sales and earnings, its development of new products, future demand for its products, its planned domestic and international expansion and opening of new stores, the completion of the expansion and upgrade of the Company’s European distribution center, and advertising and marketing initiatives. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward looking language such as “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “project,” “will be,” “will continue,” “will result,” “could,” “may,” “might,” or any variations of such words with similar meanings. Any such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include international economic, political and market conditions including the uncertainty of sustained recovery in Europe; entry into the highly competitive performance footwear market; sustaining, managing and forecasting costs and proper inventory levels; losing any significant customers; decreased demand by industry retailers and cancellation of order commitments due to the lack of popularity of particular designs and/or categories of products; maintaining brand image and intense competition among sellers of footwear for consumers; anticipating, identifying, interpreting or forecasting changes in fashion trends, consumer demand for the products and the various market factors described above; sales levels during the spring, back-to-school and holiday selling seasons; and other factors referenced or incorporated by reference in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. The risks included here are not exhaustive. The Company operates in a very competitive and rapidly changing environment. New risks emerge from time to time and the companies cannot predict all such risk factors, nor can the companies assess the impact of all such risk factors on their respective businesses or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. Given these risks and uncertainties, you should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as a prediction of actual results. Moreover, reported results should not be considered an indication of future performance.