USC’s run with Nike keeps picking up speed, and the latest name to join the Swoosh family is senior running back Waymond Jordan.
Jordan announced on July 23 that he has signed with Nike, adding another major brand partnership to a USC stretch that has been loaded with movement. The exact terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but Jordan can be expected to show up in Nike ads, commercials, billboards or product rollouts.
The timing fits a busy month for USC and Nike. Earlier in July, USC Athletics and Nike agreed to a new 10-year contract extension that brings in new workout equipment, an NIL program with student-athlete classes, new uniforms for the men’s and women’s basketball teams and an updated student store. Around the same time, 2027 commit Quentin Hale was announced as part of Nike Football’s NIL high school roster.
Nike’s presence around USC has already been well established in women’s basketball, where JuJu Watkins has become one of the brand’s biggest faces. She signed with Nike in October 2022 during her senior year of high school, then landed a multi-year extension in October 2024 that was the richest sneaker deal in women’s basketball history. Watkins is also the face of Nike-LeBron James’ new sneaker line.
The brand has continued to build around USC talent. Jazzy Davidson signed with Nike during her senior year of high school in 2024, and incoming freshman Saniyah Hall, the No. 1 overall recruit of 2026, signed with Jordan Brand during her senior year in 2025. In October 2025, volleyball players Madison Pietsch, Presley Kiffin and Mia Tvrdy, along with basketball player Vivian Iwuchukwu, modeled in the Nike-SKIMS collab and later signed NIL deals with the brands.
Before Hale and Jordan were added, Nike had already locked in freshman tight end Mark Bowman. Bowman, who is entering his senior year at Mater Dei in 2026, was the No. 3 player in California and ranked in the top 30 nationally. During spring, he was featured heavily on the Nike App while promoting new Nike football gear.
Jordan’s Nike deal is not his first endorsement of the year, either. In April, he signed an NIL deal with Panini America.
Even after a shortened 2025 season, Jordan’s profile has clearly kept rising. Before his knee injury on Oct. 11, 2025 against Michigan, he was averaging 6.5 yards per carry, ranked third among Power Four backs in yards after contact with 421, had scored five touchdowns through six games and posted two 150-plus-yard games. He finished the year with 88 carries for 576 rushing yards, seven catches for 55 receiving yards and five touchdowns.
His sophomore season in 2024-2025 was the breakout that put him on the map. Jordan rushed for 1,614 yards on 218 carries, averaged 7.4 yards per carry and scored 20 touchdowns in 12 games.
That production helped the Blue Dragons win the NJCAA DI Football Championship, and Jordan was named the 2024 NJCAA DI Football Offensive Player of the Year. He also earned NJCAA DI Football First Team All-American honors and a spot on the All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference First Team.
With King Miller emerging, Jordan now sits in one of the nation’s strongest running back rooms. He is also an early Doak Walker Award candidate, another sign of how far his stock has climbed.
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