To the most devoted sports fan, the atmosphere of college football is unmatched. The bitter rivalries, the unwavering pride in one’s alma mater, the electric bowl games and the daunting road to the national championship game in January.
Throughout all of this, according to Footwear News, one athletic brand’s logo appears on jerseys more often than any other: the Nike Swoosh.
At the start of the season, 17 of the top 25 teams in the NCAA College Football FBS standings are backed by Nike. The brand sponsors the top seven ranked schools, including No. 1 ranked Georgia, which has been aligned with Nike since 1999.
“The idea here is that the brand is going to appear in virtually every shot, whether it’s on television or streaming or social media. It’s about the logo being seen,” Matt Powell, advisor at Spurwink River and senior advisor at BCE Consulting, told FN. “Perhaps more indirectly, it’s about the athletes performing at a high level wearing the product. That gives the brand authenticity and credibility as a performance brand.”
The remaining schools in the top 25 with Nike deals include Ohio State, Oregon, Texas, Alabama, Ole Miss, Penn State, Florida State, Missouri, LSU, Clemson, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Arizona, USC and Iowa.
Adidas has the second most schools in the top 25 with four: Miami, Texas A&M, Kansas and NC State.
Miami, the highest profile football program of Adidas’ schools, was long associated with Nike before joining its competitor in 2015. At the time of the deal, which reportedly was a 12-year agreement, neither Adidas and Miami disclosed its worth. However, ESPN reported at the time that it was worth “multiple times” more than Miami’s previous deal with Nike, and if it was similar to Adidas’ then $7.8 million per year deal with Louisville, it could eclipse $90 million over those 12 years.
Under Armour and Jordan Brand both have two schools in the top 25. Those backed by Under Armour include Notre Dame and Utah, and Jordan Brand’s schools are Michigan and Oklahoma.
Michigan was the first school that Jordan Brand signed, inking a reported 15-year, $173.8 million deal in 2015.
“It’s been a great marketing move for them. I think they’ve wanted to diversify themselves instead of just being thought of as basketball and appealing to basketball fans — we saw them sponsor a NASCAR car at one point, they have players in MLB who are wearing Jordan cleats. The idea was about trying to spread the brand across more sports and hopefully attract a new set of customers,” Powell explained.
As for Under Armour, its highest profile school is Notre Dame. The brand and the school announced in 2023 that they have renewed their partnership for 10 more years. Although terms of the deal were not announced, Yahoo Sports reported at the time that it is worth $10 million annually.
