Ole Miss is reportedly preparing to make a clean break from Nike and move to Adidas when its current deal expires in June 2027.
On3’s Brett McMurphy and Pete Nakos reported Friday that the Rebels are finalizing an agreement to make Adidas their official apparel partner beginning in 2027. The move would end a Nike run that dates back to 1999.
The reported agreement was secured by Chancellor Glenn Boyce and Athletics Director Keith Carter. Ole Miss and Adidas have not announced anything publicly, and the financial terms have not been confirmed.
The timing is notable because Adidas has been active on the market in this cycle. Just two weeks earlier, the company lost Miami, which had been with Adidas since 2015, when the Hurricanes agreed to return to Nike on a 10-year deal worth more than $200 million. Adidas made a counteroffer, but it did not match Nike’s terms.
If the Ole Miss deal is completed, the Rebels would become the third major program Adidas has added this year, following Penn State and Tennessee earlier in 2026. On Nike’s side, the company has picked up Miami and South Carolina, both of which are leaving Under Armour.
Nike also kept Duke, whose contract was set to expire in July 2027. Duke had planned a two-day trip to Adidas’ North American headquarters in Portland, but the visit never got off the ground, according to John Canzano.
The broader picture is clear: the old rule that these brands weren’t chasing each other’s schools no longer holds. Programs are moving back and forth, and both companies are fighting for the same tier of college brand.
The biggest question in the Ole Miss story is the money. No figure has surfaced yet, and that leaves the value of the agreement unknown for now.
Miami offers the closest comparison from this same round of deals. Its Adidas contract paid about $6.5 million annually in cash plus apparel, according to Bleacher Report’s summary of Miami Herald reporting. Nike’s replacement deal averages more than $20 million per year over 10 years.
That kind of jump shows how much these top-end apparel contracts have escalated since 2015. It also helps explain how Adidas could lose out on Miami’s numbers but still land an SEC program in Ole Miss.
Miami’s Adidas deal was the longest collegiate contract Adidas had ever signed when it was completed, and it expires next June. Ole Miss’ Nike contract ends the same month.
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Pete Golding has since shifted the practice emphasis back to fundamentals, with the staff pressing the unit to fight through blocks and finish plays with better discipline. Ole Miss now heads into its matchup with Vanderbilt looking for a cleaner standard in tackling and pursuit, and the real question is whether those corrections show up fast enough to steady a defense that knows it has more fixing to do. [Read more 🡒]
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There is still enough offensive talent to make this interesting, with quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and running back Kewan Lacy giving the Rebels pieces to build around. But the bigger concern remains on the other side of the ball, where Pete Goldings defense has to show real improvement if Ole Miss wants to avoid the losses the projections are already circling against Texas, Georgia and Oklahoma. [Read more 🡒]