After decades of being one of the premier Nike schools, Penn State is reportedly switching brands, according to Brett McMurphy of On3. Provided the Board of Trustees votes to approve the move, the Nittany Lions will be an Adidas school after this academic year.
This move — like every move in
college athletics at this point — comes down to money. In the day of NIL and player sponsorships, what your uniform brand is offering your players matters. It was a major reason why Tennessee switched from Nike to Adidas just a few weeks back, with reports saying Adidas’ NIL deal with Tennessee was “unprecedented.”
In its announcement, Tennessee said that Adidas would provide “unprecedented” NIL opportunities for athletes across all 20 of the school’s varsity sports. In fact, Adidas will immediately start working toward securing NIL deals with Tennessee athletes during the 2025-26 athletic season.
While details of the financial deal or the NIL deal between Penn State and Adidas haven’t be released yet, I would expect the Nittany Lions to be getting a hefty deal and a similarly “unprecedented” NIL deal. Adidas does have some other big programs associated with it beyond Tennessee — Texas A&M, Nebraska, and Miami stick out — but Penn State will certainly be one of their premier schools nationally.
To no surprise, Penn State fans on Twitter are not happing about the possible switch.
We’ll see what comes out this. Sound off in the comments about your Nike/Adidas takes.
