Penn State announces it’s leaving Nike for 10-year deal with Adidas

Penn State announced Friday that it will shift its athletic brand partner from Nike to Adidas beginning in July 2026 in a 10-year agreement.

Penn State was one of the first colleges to align with Nike in 1993, adding a swoosh to its formerly pristine football uniforms. It’s been a successful partnership, even though the Nittany Lions are lower in Nike’s pecking order than they will be with Adidas.

No financial terms were announced. Tennessee announced last month that it was returning to the Adidas brand in a 10-year, $100 million agreement. On3 reported earlier this week that Penn State’s deal is similar to Tennessee’s.

Penn State director of athletics Pat Kraft described it as an “unprecedented commitment.”

“Penn State Athletics has been blessed with incredible partners throughout our history, but today we step into a bold new era,” Kraft said in a statement. “From the field to the court, the mat to the pitch, this partnership goes far beyond uniforms.

“It is unlike anything else in the marketplace. Adidas is making an unprecedented commitment to Penn State, delivering record investment in our department, groundbreaking NIL and marketing opportunities and access to technology and innovation that no other program can match.”

Adidas was founded in Germany more than 100 years ago and is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe and the second-largest in the world behind Nike.

Indiana, Nebraska, Rutgers and Washington are Big Ten schools that already have existing deals with Adidas. Other Adidas schools include Arizona State, Texas A&M, Kansas, Louisville, Miami, Mississippi State, North Carolina State and St. John’s.

“Adidas is committed to partnering with universities like Penn State that possess rich tradition and championship potential in equal measure,” said John Miller, Adidas president, North America. “We see this new agreement as a unique opportunity for us to help shape the next chapter of Penn State Athletics while staying true to everything that makes the Nittany Lions an iconic brand.”

Over the next 10 months, Penn State and Adidas will be “prioritizing high-impact NIL agreements and brand marketing campaigns for student-athletes across all 31 sports.”

Former Penn State football players Micah Parsons and Abdul Carter and former Penn State women’s volleyball setter Micah Hancock have contracts with Adidas.

Source: Berkshire mont