Nike is no longer signing individual equipment sponsorships with college football and basketball players, ending a decades-long practice that made its cleats and sneakers the default choice for elite NCAA athletes. Multiple agents representing top-tier prospects confirm the company stopped offering new boot deals in late 2024, redirecting those budgets into collective Name, Image, and Likeness agreements structured through university partnerships. Adidas is absorbing the displaced talent, signing individual athletes Nike declined to renew.
The shift follows Nike's December announcement of Kevin Durant's NIL program at the University of Texas, a partnership that funnels equipment and cash to Longhorn basketball players without individual contracts. The structure allows Nike to maintain brand presence on campus while avoiding the administrative burden of negotiating hundreds of separate deals with athletes who may transfer or turn professional within months. Three other flagship programs—two SEC schools and one Big Ten program—are in active discussions to replicate the Texas model, according to compliance officers familiar with the negotiations. The contracts under review represent approximately $47 million in annual team apparel commitments.
Adidas is exploiting the gap. The company signed 19 individual boot deals with college players in the first eight weeks of 2025, compared to four in all of 2024, according to disclosure filings tracked by INFLCR. The athletes include two Heisman Trophy finalists and six projected first-round NFL Draft picks. Adidas pays between $15,000 and $85,000 per season for equipment rights, plus performance bonuses tied to postseason appearances. Nike's former per-player spend ranged from $8,000 to $50,000, with the highest-tier deals reserved for Heisman contenders and March Madness stars.
The economics favor collectives. A traditional Nike boot deal for a starting quarterback at a top-10 program cost the company roughly $35,000 in cash, product, and administrative overhead. The Texas collective arrangement delivers equivalent on-field branding for an estimated $12,000 per athlete, absorbed into the broader $10 million annual NIL fund Durant's partnership anchors. Nike reduces contract risk—players can transfer or lose eligibility mid-season—and gains leverage with athletic departments that control roster access. The athlete receives less cash but stays within the school's compliance framework, avoiding the tax and legal complications individual sponsorships create.
Three Power Five programs are now negotiating early exits from Nike team contracts to gain flexibility in equipment partnerships. The schools—none of which have publicly confirmed the discussions—are pushing for opt-out clauses that allow player-level deals with competing brands while maintaining Nike's rights to sideline apparel and coaching staff uniforms. One athletic director involved in the talks described the ask as "splitting the kit," preserving the appearance of a unified Nike partnership while opening the locker room to Adidas, New Balance, and Puma for individual sponsorships. Nike has historically resisted such arrangements, but two of the three schools are within 18 months of contract renewals and hold leverage.
The tactical question for team operators: whether collective NIL deals suppress individual athlete leverage or create a shadow market. Adidas is betting on the latter. The company is targeting athletes at Nike-affiliated schools who cannot secure individual deals under the new structure, offering them $20,000 to $50,000 to wear Three Stripes cleats even as their teammates wear Swooshes. NCAA rules allow the arrangement as long as the school's team contract does not explicitly prohibit mixed branding on the field. Two SEC programs have already seen starting linebackers switch boot sponsors mid-season under this model.
What to watch: Nike's spring football signings will clarify whether the company is abandoning equipment sponsorships entirely or consolidating spend among a smaller group of blue-chip programs. Adidas plans to announce a multi-school collective partnership before the NFL Draft, structured similarly to Nike's Texas arrangement but targeting basketball programs. The three programs negotiating contract exits are expected to resolve their Nike renewals by the end of Q2, with decisions likely to hinge on whether the schools can secure higher annual guarantees from Adidas or Puma in exchange for exclusive on-field branding.
One agent who recently moved a client from Nike to Adidas put it plainly: "Nike's still the aspirational brand, but Adidas is the one writing checks to college kids." The first Power Five program to announce a split-branding model will set the template for every subsequent negotiation.