Report: Rutgers Switching From Nike To Adidas

Rutgers just rolled out new uniforms for all sports last spring as part of sweeping changes under new athletic director Pat Hobbs. According to Keith Sargeant of NJ Advance Media, more changes on the uniform front are coming, but this time due to a complete brand change.

While Sargeant reports the deal is not done yet, it does sound like it is very close to becoming official. The reported deal with Adidas is expected to be slightly more than $10 million over six years in apparel and cash value, which would be double from the current Nike deal of 5+ million over five years set to expire this coming June. However, Rutgers was not in the Big Ten during the previous negotiations with Nike and there was hope that they would land a much more lucrative deal this time around.

According to Sarge’s report, Nike was not willing to offer a contract much different and Hobbs started exploring options, first turning to Under Armour. It appears that ultimately the buck with stop with Adidas. Other Big Ten schools under the Adidas brand include Nebraska and Indiana.

This change does mean new uniforms will be coming again for all Rutgers sports before the 2017-2018 school year begins. Sarge indicated on twitter here that Adidas wants to redesign the uniforms and that the secondary logo will be kept.

Bob Cancro is our resident brand & uniform expert, so he share’s his thoughts on the implications of this potential deal here.