Shane Beamer shares player, recruit reaction to South Carolina's Nike contract

News recently emerged that South Carolina will shift its apparel contract from Under Armour to Nike following the 2025-26 athletics season. It’s news that has some in Columbia, S.C., absolutely ecstatic.

The news itself can be a boon to recruiting. And current players are also thrilled.

“A lot of excitement, certainly grateful for our partnership with Under Armour for so many years,” coach Shane Beamer said. “They’ve been a great partner and a great friend to Carolina athletics and will continue to be over the next year until that contract runs out.

“But the response from our team and the response from recruits has been really, really, really positive as well. It’s something that has come up with some recruits that we’re recruiting right now during the recruiting process. That was one of the questions in my office with some recruits on official visits was what the apparel contract looks like going forward.”

So what does the new apparel contract with Nike look like? Well, it will be a 10-year deal worth $5 million in cash, $75 million in product and an additional $2.5 million in “supplemental” product.

South Carolina will also receive a 15% royalty rate on net sales. That should be another decent boon for the program.

“To have it resolved, appreciate Nike. I mean, they wanted us,” Beamer said. “Appreciate Jeremiah (Donati), Jeff Crane and the rest of our administration for their communication in getting this done without a doubt. So I think it’s a great day for South Carolina and most of the players, not most, all of the players I know and the recruits that I know feel the same way.”

South Carolina’s previous deal with Under Armour was for 10 years and was worth approximately $70 million combined between cash and apparel value. However, Under Armour has decreased its presence in college sports. After the Nike announcement, USC athletics director Jeremiah Donati confirmed that Under Armour declined to match Nike’s offer.

Bottom line: This is major news for South Carolina. And just about everyone around the program seems stoked for the move to Nike.