Mitch Barnhart addresses why Kentucky remained a Nike school, did not flip to Adidas

On Aug. 8, the University of Kentucky announced it had signed a 10-year contract extension with Nike. Kentucky signed its previous deal with the apparel company in 2013. On Tuesday, Kentucky athletic director Mitch Barnhart pulled back the curtain on the school’s decision to re-sign with Nike.

“There was a couple things. We got more product, which is really important for us,” Barnhart said. “There is some money obviously involved in some of these other deals. We used an opportunity to go grab more product for our program. We’re spending more money away from our contract previously. We wanted to begin to do a better job, I think, of managing our gear and things that we’re getting back.

“I feel like we’re in a good spot. That landscape will continue to change as well. I’m not concerned that we didn’t get a good deal… We really have enjoyed our partnership with Nike. They’ve great to us and we feel really good about how we would be able to manage it. There’ll be savings on our side that will be reflected more in the dollars.”

While Kentucky could’ve potentially received more money from another bidder, it is still receiving a lucrative bump from its new deal with Nike. Last year, the school received $2.125 million from its partnership with Nike, according to records obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

In contrast, Kentucky will receive $7 million from the company in 2025-26. That rate will remain the same for the next five years before increasing to $7.5 million in 2030-31.

Additionally, Nike will pay Kentucky a 15% royalty on the sale of all its products related to the school, excluding shoes that have UK’s on them. In that case, Nike will pay Kentucky a 5% royalty. Nike must pay Kentucky a minimum of $4 million in royalties over the course of the 10-year deal.

To pile on, Nike included incentives for the school. For example, if Kentucky’s football program reaches the SEC Championship, Nike will pay UK an additional $10,000.

Although Kentucky’s extension with Nike will bring it much more revenue, the deal still pales in comparison to some other schools. Ohio State boasts the largest contract with Nike — a 15-year deal worth $252 million that the school signed in 2016.

As a comparison to Nike, Louisville signed a 10-year, $160 million contract with Adidas in 2017 — the largest deal Adidas has with a school. Excluding royalty payments and incentives, Kentucky’s latest contract with Nike is worth $76.5 million.