AD Jeremiah Donati shares thoughts on South Carolina's Nike deal

A new era for South Carolina athletics is coming. Starting next summer, the Gamecocks will officially be a Nike school.

South Carolina’s Board of Trustees met Friday morning to approve a 10-year contract with Nike to become the university’s athletics apparel outfitter. The deal starts on July 1, 2026, and runs through June 30, 2026. It’s worth $5 million in cash, $70 million in product, and an additional $2.5 million in “supplemental” product.

It’s a massive move for the Gamecocks as their time with Under Armour will come to an end. They had been partnered with the company since 2007. Athletics director Jeremiah Donati confirmed that Under Armour opted not to match Nike’s offer.

“You spend a lot of time thinking about what would be in our best interest going forward,” Donati told reporters. “So went through the process and spent a lot of time being really thoughtful, listening to our coaches, the student athletes, and was really thrilled with the offer that Nike gave us.”

Something else notable that Donati mentioned: South Carolina didn’t speak with any other companies aside from Nike and Under Armour.

“Just Nike,” he said.

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When South Carolina originally signed with Under Armour, it was for football only and worth $10.8 million over six years. The contract was then extended to all sports in 2011, totaling $19 million for the next six years.

In 2016, the school signed a 10-year extension with the company, which is set to end on June 30, 2026. The total value is around $71.5 million, and at the time, it was the second-most valuable apparel deal in the SEC and the seventh-most valuable nationally.

“I think the way the cycle works, you’ve got to order products a year in advance, and so we wanted to make sure we had options and they had options,” Donati said. “So, whether we were going to continue with our partnership, you like to know those things before you get into that cycle.”

The total value of the new 10-year deal with Nike is around $77.5 million. It’s not completely known how this all stacks up against other SEC schools and their apparel deals, but it’s one that Donati “feels great about.”

“All these deals are a little, you know, they’re not quite apples to apples, because the apparel business has changed so much, and it continues to evolve,” Donati said. “But no, we feel great about our deal we have with Under Armour. We feel very well supported by them, and we feel great about this deal going forward.”

The Gamecocks are the second SEC school in recent weeks to partner with a new company. Just last week, Tennessee decided to move on from Nike and re-up with Adidas, with whom it was previously with from 1995 to 2015.

The financial terms of Tennessee’s new deal aren’t public, but it’s a 10-year contract that runs through 2036. What’s notable about their agreement is that there will be “unprecedented NIL opportunities” for athletes at the school. 

For Donati and South Carolina, NIL is something “at the top of mind for everybody” with the future of this new deal with Nike.

“It will be something that both Under Armor and Nike are very intentional about,” Donati said. “So when those opportunities come, we’ll make sure that we take advantage of them.”

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