USC and Nike are pushing their partnership into a new decade, and this latest extension is built around much more than uniforms and logo placement.
As of July 14, 2026, the Trojans and the Swoosh have agreed to keep working together for another 10 years, extending a relationship that has been tied to USC athletics since 1993. The two brands signed a 20-year multi-sport deal in 2005, and with that agreement nearing its end, the question was never really whether another company would try to get in the mix. It was how long Nike and USC would stay locked together.
“USC and Nike have grown together for more than 30 years, and we are thrilled to continue one of the great partnerships in college athletics,” Charles Griffin Cale Director of Athletics, Jennifer Cohen, announced. “From the outset, these two iconic brands have made history, outfitted legends, and powered victories for generations of Trojan student-athletes, and for all we have accomplished together already, we are all the more excited for what’s to come.”
The extension puts a heavy emphasis on the future of USC athletics, especially on the recruiting and retention side. USC is set to join Nike’s Blue Ribbon Elite, an NIL program Nike introduced with LSU during their contract extension in December 2025. Nike says the program is designed to help student-athletes build their portfolios, work on brand campaigns, offer input on product innovation and get a hands-on look at the creative side of marketing themselves.
USC’s Blue Ribbon Elite class will be announced in the coming weeks, but Nike has already lined up several notable athletes. JuJu Watkins signed the richest sneaker deal in women’s basketball and is currently the face of the LeBron NXXT Gen.
Before she arrived at USC, Jazzy Davidson signed with Nike during her senior year of high school. Mark Bowman also signed with the Swoosh in high school and took part in apparel photoshoots.
Members of the volleyball team also picked up NIL deals after appearing in the Nike-SKIMS collaboration rollout.
The equipment side of the deal is getting a major boost too. USC will be the first school in the country outfitted with Nike Strength equipment, including barbells, plates, benches, racks and more. The Bloom Football Performance Center will be the first place to get the Nike Strength makeover.
Basketball is getting its own upgrade as well, with the men’s and women’s teams set to receive “custom uniform collections.”
Nike’s footprint on campus will stretch into retail and research, too. The USC Bookstore is scheduled for a refresh from Nike and its retail partners, more retail pop-ups are on the way, and the Nike women’s product line will be expanded. USC will also become the home of Nike’s “state-of-the-art sports research.”
Since USC joined Nike, the school’s sports programs have collected 40-plus NCAA National Championships. USC Athletics Hall of Famer Anthony Davis was the first athlete to show off the swoosh on a cover of Sports Illustrated in 1974.
Fun fact: @uscfb legend Anthony Davis was the first @Nike athlete to put the swoosh on the cover of @SInow pic.twitter.com/qnTZ5PaLWj
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