Report: Tennessee-adidas deal includes multi-million dollar NIL component

After more than a decade, Tennessee announced it was returning to adidas as part of a 10-year contract. Through the agreement, though, the Vols will also be in position for NIL success.

In the announcement, Tennessee said the deal with adidas includes “unprecedented NIL opportunities” for athletes at the school. Yahoo! Sports’ Ross Dellenger reported players will get a slice of the pie, and adidas is even working quickly to secure deals with Vols athletes this school year. The new contract doesn’t officially start until next school year.

The NIL component of Tennessee’s deal with adidas – which could be worth at least $10 million, according to Dellenger – is especially important in the post-House v. NCAA settlement landscape. Under the agreement, schools can share up to $20.5 million directly with athletes through revenue-sharing. However, there isn’t a cap on third-party NIL deals, meaning adidas can effectively help with “over-the-cap” opportunities.

“The arms race was originally about facilities,” said Chris McGuire, adidas Vice President of Sports Marketing for North America, while speaking with Yahoo! Sports. “Now it’s gone to rev-share and NIL. We want to make sure we provide opportunities to our partners that are competitive in the marketplace so they’ll have competitive teams on the field.”

If Tennessee athletes sign an NIL deal with adidas, they would be able to wear the company’s products in games once the new agreement gets in place. This year, though, those athletes would have to wear Nike apparel until that deal expires.

Adidas is active in the football NIL space

Adidas has been active in the NIL space, including signing multiple highly rated recruits as part of the adizero Class of 2025, headlined by five-star LSU commit and top wide receiver prospect Tristen Keys. No. 1-ranked linebacker Tyler Atkinson is also on board, giving adidas two of the 10 highest-rated 2026 recruits on its growing athlete roster.

Ohio State wide receiver commits Chris Henry Jr. and Kayden Dixon-Wyatt are both part of the initiative, as is Texas A&M commit Madden Williams. Five-star receiver Calvin Russell, who ranks as the No. 4-ranked wide receiver in the country, rounds out the group.

Ohio State star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith also became the latest active college football player to sign an NIL deal with adidas, though the Buckeyes are a Nike school. Former Miami quarterback Cam Ward was also did so last year, and the company also struck quickly ahead of the NFL Draft by landing top picks Travis Hunter and Abdul Carter as part of its rookie class.

More on Tennessee’s new agreement with adidas

Tennessee left adidas in 2014 to sign with Nike, and the amended deal runs through 2026. Through the partnership, the university is due to receive $1.2 million in base compensation in 2025-26 and $4.5 million in annual product allotment.

UT initially signed its deal with Nike in 2014, and the original contract paid the school $7.6 million through 2022-23. However, the amendment increased that figure to 11.6 million over 11 years and increased the scheduled payment to $1.2 million for the final three years of the agreement, starting in 2023-24.

“The role of a college athletics sideline partner has changed dramatically in the 11 years since we last partnered with Tennessee Athletics,” said adidas Vice President of Sports Marketing for North America Chris McGuire in a release. “adidas is establishing a new standard for investment in NIL with this partnership that will sustain UT’s powerful athletics program as the university continues competing for championships for years to come.”