South Carolina’s long run with Under Armour is over. Starting July 1, the Gamecocks are officially a Nike school, ending a 19-year partnership and opening a new 10-year deal that brings a bigger financial package and a fresh wave of product across the athletic department.
The contract is valued at $70 million, with an additional $5 million in cash compensation, a $2.5 million supplemental product allowance and 15% of net sales from Nike Gamecocks items. South Carolina’s previous Under Armour extension in 2016 was worth $71.5 million.
The switch was approved in August 2025 ahead of the Under Armour deal expiring on June 30. Now the rollout begins, but not all at once. Fans can start buying Nike gear on July 1, though the new merchandise will arrive in waves as the partnership gets going.
That also means a big cleanout of the old stuff. Coaches, players, fans and individual stores can decide what to do with their Under Armour items, but the school itself is sending its surplus through South Carolina State Surplus. Athletic director Jeremiah Donati said there will be a lot of it.
"When you're with a partner as long as we've been for almost 20 years, we have a tremendous amount of product that the state surplus will be helping to sell, so they'll still be plenty of Gamecock Under Armour gear available," athletic director Jeremiah Donati told The Greenville News.
He said the sale will happen this summer, though the exact date hasn’t been set.
"It'll be a tremendous amount of gear, which is everything from apparel to old uniforms. They'll be available to fans so that'll be a great thing," he said.
For football, the new Nike agreement brings uniforms, cleats and special alternate uniforms beginning this season, with South Carolina opening Sept. 5 at home against Kent State. The contract also calls for Nike to give the program a full redesign of at least three uniforms over the first four years.
The money side comes with performance bonuses, too. In men’s and women’s basketball, South Carolina gets $10,000 for winning the conference tournament, $25,000 for reaching the Final Four and $50,000 for winning the national championship. For softball and baseball, the bonuses are $10,000 for an NCAA super regional appearance, $15,000 for a College World Series appearance and $25,000 for winning it all.
Football has its own ladder of incentives. The Gamecocks would get $10,000 for playing in the conference championship and $20,000 for winning it.
A College Football Playoff first-round appearance pays $10,000, advancing to the CFP quarterfinals pays $15,000 and reaching the semifinal pays $25,000. If South Carolina gets to the national title game, the bonus is $50,000, and winning the championship would bring $100,000.
Those football bonuses are cumulative, while in basketball, softball and baseball Nike pays only the highest bonus earned.
There’s already some star power tied to the transition. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers, wide receiver Nyck Harbor and edge rusher Dylan Stewart signed NIL deals with Nike in mid-June. Shane Beamer said the brand change has already made an impression.
"It'll be a huge asset for us," Beamer told The Greenville News. "I know our players, coaches and recruits are really excited about it . . . I've had some recruits tell me how excited they are about Nike, that it really changed how they think about our football program because we're going to Nike."
Basketball gets its own Nike boost, and Dawn Staley’s program is finally able to align with A’ja Wilson’s signature line after being boxed out by the old Under Armour arrangement. Wilson, who starred for Staley from 2014 to 2018, launched the "A'One" in May 2025 and the "A'Two" a year later.
Now the contract specifically says that in "Recognizing A'ja Wilson as an iconic USC athlete and ambassador," Nike will provide the Gamecocks women’s basketball team with A'Twos, including South Carolina colorways, along with other Wilson-related gear.
The women’s program is also getting a redesigned court in Colonial Life Arena, done in partnership with the school. Nike will design at least four new uniforms in the first four years, and South Carolina will receive "Paris uniform chassis" for the 2026-27 season, the same chassis used by USA Basketball’s women’s national team during its gold-medal run at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
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