Adidas Building NIL Platform To Include 50K Student-Athletes, 100-Plus Universities
Wednesday, March 23, 2022 at 03:02PM By Barry Janoff
UPDATED May 31, 2022: Collegiate golfer Rose Zhang of Stanford University has become the first student-athlete to join Team adidas, signing a NIL deal with the brand.
The pact is part of adidas’ strategy unveiled earlier this year to build a “wide-sweeping, equitable and inclusive NIL network reaching more than 50,000 eligible student-athletes across 23 sports and all genders at 109 D1 universities.”
Financial terms were not shared.
Zhang, playing in the LPGA U.S. Women’s Open this week as an amateur golfer, recently added “National Champion” to her growing list of achievements after winning both the individual and team titles at the 2022 NCAA D1 Women’s Golf Championship.
As part of her multi-year contract with adidas, “Zhang will wear the adidas 3-Stripes both on and off the course in all competition, training, and other play outside her university team obligations. She will also feature in brand marketing campaigns promoting the newest products in golf apparel and footwear.”
“adidas has been a major part of some of my biggest wins as an amateur, so this is an exciting moment for me,” said Zhang via adidas. “I’m most comfortable wearing the 3-Stripes on the course and can’t wait for what’s ahead.”
“We are happy to officially welcome Rose to the adidas family,” Rupert Campbell, president of adidas North America, said via the company.
“Rose embodies a winning Impossible is Nothing attitude on the golf course and we’re excited to start this new chapter of working with student-athletes.”
March 23, 2022: While many companies and brands are signing individual college student-athletes to name, image and likeness deals, adidas is taking the platform to another level.
Adidas said today it is developing a NIL program that would enable “more than 50,000 students across 23 sports at 109 schools that have official alliances with the brand the ability to become paid spokespeople for the brand.”
Adidas said it is the first major sports brand to create this type of NIL program for paying college athletes.
“The adidas NIL network embodies our belief that sport has the power to change lives by up-skilling athletes and giving them the ability to begin to experience an entrepreneurial path that will carry them beyond their college years,” Jim Murphy, adidas NCAA program lead, said via the company.
Adidas said it plans to roll out the program in phases over the next 12 months, beginning with Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Power Five conference partners this fall.
It would then expand to other participating schools by April 2023.
Adidas will have a presence via partner schools at both the women’s and men’s Sweet 16, Elite 8, Men's Final Four, Women's Final Four and National Championship games.
Activation will include “More Is Possible" T-shirts worn by adidas teams during warm-ups featuring language from Title IX legislation “to serve as a powerful reminder to push the boundaries of possibility.”
Although adidas did not share financial specifics, it said brand-ambassador deals would “center on payment for social-media posts, an endorsement arrangement that has been common since the NCAA granted athletes at member schools the right to be compensated for the use of their name, image and likeness, starting in July 2021.
“Athletes also can take part in a program in which they would be paid a percentage of sales that they drive to the adidas Web site or app.”
“One of the primary reasons that we were so excited and proud to partner with adidas beginning back in 2018 was because of their innovative practices and commitment to athletes,” Todd Stansbury, Georgia Tech athletic director, said via the school.
“This NIL program, which will benefit all Georgia Tech student-athletes, is a perfect example of adidas’ forward-thinking approach to college athletics. All of us here at Georgia Tech are grateful to adidas for instituting this first-of-its-kind program to benefit our student-athletes.”
Prominent adidas spokespersons such as WNBA star Candace Parker and tennis icon Billie Jean King “are supporting the brand’s ongoing effort to push the game forward.”
“Adidas’ NIL network is an incredible step forward for the growth of women’s sports,” said Parker via the company.
“It will have an impact on the future of college athletics and hopefully create a more equal, sustainable landscape where athletes feel supported and invested in as they grow in their college careers.”
According to King, “It has been a long 50 years since the passage of Title IX — and we’ve fought and played for equality every step of the way.
“The progress we have made is incredible, but it’s time to focus on the next 50 years — and I’m proud to be a longtime partner with adidas, who is helping to build the future of sport.”
Among adidas partner schools and universities are Arizona State, Arkansas State, Central Michigan, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, FAU, FIU, Florida State, Georgia Southern, Georgia Tech, Hawaii, Indiana, Kansas, La Salle, Louisiana, Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech, Louisville, Massachusetts, Miami (FL), Miami (OH), Mississippi State, NC State, Nebraska, Nevada, Northern Illinois, Ohio, Rice, Rutgers, San Jose State, South Alabama, South Florida, Southern Miss, Texas A&M, Texas State, Troy, Tulsa, UTSA, Washington, Western Michigan and Wyoming.
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