Miami athletics returns to Nike in record-setting deal

Sebastian Font
3 min read

Comments (789)

Don’t give a **** about uniforms. Never understood this forum’s obsession with them (although we’ve had plenty of hideous) jerseys. All I care about is the money and improvement to NIL.

U’re a fan vs. an athlete. I’m literally involved in youth sports, my guy. I’ve tirelessly have said this for yrs, I’ve posted tangible data, I’ve specifically told u what kids we had shots w & no shots w due to branding.

It’s like some of ya’ll, & this is no offense to u, have myopic views on things b/c u’re placing ur values on a kid who’s 13-18 yrs old. Apparel matters, stadium atmosphere matters, facilities matters. Those r not the be-all and end-all, but they all matter. It also affects sells.
 
Brother; lol….UT is coming up in a 3 yrs. They r going to be hella chipped off b/c they r one of Nike’s biggest cash cows. Our deal is setting a precedence & we’re going to b in that upper echelon. We’re still a relatively small University, so don’t expect an OSU or UT deal not to b along or exceed this price point. Just enjoy that we’re now the most lucrative program, r making 3x-5x (royalties) that our initial landmark deal w Adidas.
For sure
 
This is not negative. Genuinely curious. I’m hoping this deal is not going to be outdone once Nike re ups with other schools in next few years
We are reseting the floor. Think of it like when Mahomes signed for 50 mil annually then a few years later Dak Prescott signed for 60 mil/yr.
 
The UCLA **** Nike has been 🔥🔥🔥

Do you think this opens the door for UM to bring on new sports that we don't have? Men's Golf, Softball? We have a women's golf squad and they just got some dope adidas golf stuff, but Nike is way more prominent in golf than adidas. I'm excited to see what Nike does there.
Nike golf has been dead for years. They don’t make equipment anymore(And haven’t for a decade), and outside of apparel & footwear, they are a nonfactor. Their golf misadventures were another example of institutional arrogance.
 
A couple months ago I had to choose a bank to fund a major business purchase. I refused to contact JPMorganChase because it sponsors Ohio State and I took all my personal money out of SoFi because it sponsors Notre Dame.
You're clearly a man of deeply held conviction and principle
 
So b4 I post my thorough breakdown, here’s On3’s take:



OK, why is this a good thing for us? Obviously, the $$$ is important, but the notoriety and recruiting implications may be even bigger.

Oh—and I forgot to mention this earlier: remember those “upgraded” Adidas uniforms we’ve been getting? High school teams have them, too!! 😂 I literally blew a gasket standing on the field and seeing D1/P4-level uniforms being worn by high school kids. Wild.

Now, back to the point.

I’ve been warning for a while that Nike is positioning itself to become the premier NIL brand, and that was going to increasingly impact recruiting. Adidas athletes have already been going to Nike schools, while virtually every Nike NIL athlete has been landing at Nike schools. The lone major exception I’ve seen is Tyran Stokes going to Kansas.

Miami returning to Nike changes that equation.

1. Recruiting:​

This immediately opens the door to the elite Nike high schools—Mater Dei, East St. Louis, DeSoto, St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, etc.

And this isn't just football -

It creates a major recruiting avenue for basketball because EYBL is, by far, the most influential AAU circuit in the country. The overwhelming majority of elite basketball prospects come through that circuit, and it’s Nike. Most of those players ultimately gravitate toward Nike/Jordan schools, with a handful going to traditional Adidas blue bloods.

Now Miami is back in that ecosystem.

2. The NIL Difference:​

This is probably the biggest part. Nike’s NIL infrastructure is on another level compared with Adidas and Under Armour. I’m not talking about a few commercials and free gear.

I personally know three current high-school Nike NIL athletes—one of them extremely well—and Nike gave all three their own shoe to design, customize and sell through Nike.com. All three sold out immediately, and the athletes received a portion of the profits.

Now imagine Miami being an official Nike Blue Ribbon program alongside schools such as South Carolina, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Oregon and Clemson.

That creates opportunities for our athletes to develop exclusive NIL relationships with Nike that can potentially extend into their professional careers, although obviously the terms and compensation change once they turn pro.

And for the record, this has nothing to do with Toney’s /// deal. That's separate, although his agreement may be year-to-year.

Guys like Sears and Lennear—and I was just with Lennear’s teammate last Friday—have Adidas NIL agreements that are strictly for high school. Once they reach college, they can renew, switch, or pursue something completely different. Think Chris Henry Jr.

3. The Miami Brand:​

This deal also means:
• More NIL opportunities
• Better recruiting access
• Better fan gear—both quantity AND quality
• A much stronger shoe/cleat presence
• Greater exposure through Nike/Jordan’s South Florida network
• And, yes, Nike will be redoing the IPF

With the number of South Florida influencers connected to Nike and Jordan Brand, our footwear presence could eventually start looking more like Oregon.

4. Nike's Elite Football Schools:​

In no particular order—and excluding Jordan Brand schools—I'd expect Nike's core priorities to include:
• Miami
• LSU
• Alabama
• Clemson
• Tennessee
• Ohio State
• Florida State
• Auburn
• South Carolina
• Oregon
• USC
• Kentucky

And PSU made this decision pretty easy for Nike.

Nike wasn't particularly concerned about Tennessee leaving. Penn State hurt. It's the first time I've seen Nike put out a farewell tweet like that for a school outside of the Tiger Woods situation—and Nike still refuses to rename his building!

Nike's original “Core 4” were Penn State, Miami, USC and Florida State.

-FSU got paid.

-USC got paid.

-PSU prematurely jumped ship because their AD was heavily Adidas-oriented.

At that point, I figured Miami was eventually coming home.

That's why I started chirping about it, until a certain poster confused my intel/corrections with me being a fanboy. 😂 So I backed off.

And I'll admit it: for a minute, it looked like I might be wrong. I fully expected us to re-sign with Adidas, but I repeatedly said it wasn't done—and explained why.

Did Adidas spent a ton of money on Penn State and Tennessee? Yes. Did Adidas also pursue Utah? Yes. And if I understand correctly, TAMU hasn't renewed either. (Something to keep an eye on especially w several high profiles TAMU players being Jordan/Nike athletes & TAMU having a separate Nike deal for T&F).

But Adidas made a fatal assumption: they thought Miami was theirs because of the relationships they had built in South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Inter Miami.

The problem? They didn't generate enough goodwill with Miami itself. For the last 4–5 years, we've finally started being treated like the brand we are.

From what I understand, Adidas did attempt to counter; but, once you're talking about $57M/year tied into three programs, the Nike offer was reportedly far beyond what Adidas could match.

And this is part of a broader trend I've been watching for years. I said several programs were going to flip back to Nike:

  1. Cincinnati — back with Jordan/Nike
  2. Cal — back with Nike
  3. UCLA — flipped to Jordan
  4. UTSA — flipped to Nike
  5. Rice — flipped to Nike
  6. Sacramento State — back with Nike (thanks, Mike Bibby)
  7. Auburn — flipped to Nike
  8. South Carolina — flipped to Nike (thanks, Ms. Wilson)
And now...

Miami is coming home. 🟠🟢

That's bigger than uniforms.


IMG_3592.gif
 
So b4 I post my thorough breakdown, here’s On3’s take:



OK, why is this a good thing for us? Obviously, the $$$ is important, but the notoriety and recruiting implications may be even bigger.

Oh—and I forgot to mention this earlier: remember those “upgraded” Adidas uniforms we’ve been getting? High school teams have them, too!! 😂 I literally blew a gasket standing on the field and seeing D1/P4-level uniforms being worn by high school kids. Wild.

Now, back to the point.

I’ve been warning for a while that Nike is positioning itself to become the premier NIL brand, and that was going to increasingly impact recruiting. Adidas athletes have already been going to Nike schools, while virtually every Nike NIL athlete has been landing at Nike schools. The lone major exception I’ve seen is Tyran Stokes going to Kansas.

Miami returning to Nike changes that equation.

1. Recruiting:​

This immediately opens the door to the elite Nike high schools—Mater Dei, East St. Louis, DeSoto, St. John Bosco, Santa Margarita, etc.

And this isn't just football -

It creates a major recruiting avenue for basketball because EYBL is, by far, the most influential AAU circuit in the country. The overwhelming majority of elite basketball prospects come through that circuit, and it’s Nike. Most of those players ultimately gravitate toward Nike/Jordan schools, with a handful going to traditional Adidas blue bloods.

Now Miami is back in that ecosystem.

2. The NIL Difference:​

This is probably the biggest part. Nike’s NIL infrastructure is on another level compared with Adidas and Under Armour. I’m not talking about a few commercials and free gear.

I personally know three current high-school Nike NIL athletes—one of them extremely well—and Nike gave all three their own shoe to design, customize and sell through Nike.com. All three sold out immediately, and the athletes received a portion of the profits.

Now imagine Miami being an official Nike Blue Ribbon program alongside schools such as South Carolina, LSU, Alabama, Georgia, USC, Oregon and Clemson.

That creates opportunities for our athletes to develop exclusive NIL relationships with Nike that can potentially extend into their professional careers, although obviously the terms and compensation change once they turn pro.

And for the record, this has nothing to do with Toney’s /// deal. That's separate, although his agreement may be year-to-year.

Guys like Sears and Lennear—and I was just with Lennear’s teammate last Friday—have Adidas NIL agreements that are strictly for high school. Once they reach college, they can renew, switch, or pursue something completely different. Think Chris Henry Jr.

3. The Miami Brand:​

This deal also means:
• More NIL opportunities
• Better recruiting access
• Better fan gear—both quantity AND quality
• A much stronger shoe/cleat presence
• Greater exposure through Nike/Jordan’s South Florida network
• And, yes, Nike will be redoing the IPF

With the number of South Florida influencers connected to Nike and Jordan Brand, our footwear presence could eventually start looking more like Oregon.

4. Nike's Elite Football Schools:​

In no particular order—and excluding Jordan Brand schools—I'd expect Nike's core priorities to include:
• Miami
• LSU
• Alabama
• Clemson
• Tennessee
• Ohio State
• Florida State
• Auburn
• South Carolina
• Oregon
• USC
• Kentucky

And PSU made this decision pretty easy for Nike.

Nike wasn't particularly concerned about Tennessee leaving. Penn State hurt. It's the first time I've seen Nike put out a farewell tweet like that for a school outside of the Tiger Woods situation—and Nike still refuses to rename his building!

Nike's original “Core 4” were Penn State, Miami, USC and Florida State.

-FSU got paid.

-USC got paid.

-PSU prematurely jumped ship because their AD was heavily Adidas-oriented.

At that point, I figured Miami was eventually coming home.

That's why I started chirping about it, until a certain poster confused my intel/corrections with me being a fanboy. 😂 So I backed off.

And I'll admit it: for a minute, it looked like I might be wrong. I fully expected us to re-sign with Adidas, but I repeatedly said it wasn't done—and explained why.

Did Adidas spent a ton of money on Penn State and Tennessee? Yes. Did Adidas also pursue Utah? Yes. And if I understand correctly, TAMU hasn't renewed either. (Something to keep an eye on especially w several high profiles TAMU players being Jordan/Nike athletes & TAMU having a separate Nike deal for T&F).

But Adidas made a fatal assumption: they thought Miami was theirs because of the relationships they had built in South Florida, including Miami-Dade and Inter Miami.

The problem? They didn't generate enough goodwill with Miami itself. For the last 4–5 years, we've finally started being treated like the brand we are.

From what I understand, Adidas did attempt to counter; but, once you're talking about $57M/year tied into three programs, the Nike offer was reportedly far beyond what Adidas could match.

And this is part of a broader trend I've been watching for years. I said several programs were going to flip back to Nike:

  1. Cincinnati — back with Jordan/Nike
  2. Cal — back with Nike
  3. UCLA — flipped to Jordan
  4. UTSA — flipped to Nike
  5. Rice — flipped to Nike
  6. Sacramento State — back with Nike (thanks, Mike Bibby)
  7. Auburn — flipped to Nike
  8. South Carolina — flipped to Nike (thanks, Ms. Wilson)
And now...

Miami is coming home. 🟠🟢

That's bigger than uniforms.

Michael Jordan Goat GIF
 
Nike golf has been dead for years. They don’t make equipment anymore(And haven’t for a decade), and outside of apparel & footwear, they are a nonfactor. Their golf misadventures were another example of institutional arrogance.
I know they haven't been making equipment anymore, however, apparel and footwear is definitely where they cook the most imo. Especially some of the collabs they've been able to link with. The rise of Jordan golf shoes. I will add that it's a saturated market. Every time we turn around, there's a new golf apparel company trying to charge $80 for a ******* polo.
 
Three steps after you add the photo:

1. Insert
IMG_5846.jpeg


2. Full image
IMG_5847.jpeg


3. Save
IMG_5848.jpeg



If you are adding multiple images, then you would select “Insert multiple” which will appear in place of “Imsert” and then click the boxes next to each image you want added or you can just click the boxes next shown below and it will add all.

IMG_5849.jpeg
 
Three steps after you add the photo:

1. Insert
View attachment 373207

2. Full image
View attachment 373208

3. Save
View attachment 373209


If you are adding multiple images, then you would select “Insert multiple” which will appear in place of “Imsert” and then click the boxes next to each image you want added or you can just click the boxes next shown below and it will add all.

View attachment 373210

Yeah, see I aint doing all that. I just picked a different gif lol. Appreciate ya though!
 
I know they haven't been making equipment anymore, however, apparel and footwear is definitely where they cook the most imo. Especially some of the collabs they've been able to link with. The rise of Jordan golf shoes. I will add that it's a saturated market. Every time we turn around, there's a new golf apparel company trying to charge $80 for a ******* polo.
The Jordan golf thing has been HUGE, it’s also something that is likely to peter out once our generation moves on to a new style. Basically Nike is just rereleasing the same Eastside Golf stuff over and over, the hypebeasts are eating it up for now. They haven’t grown in the space in a hot minute.
 
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