Kicks

Nike, Jordan, Adidas Announce Major NIL Signings

High school and college stars have joined global sneaker brands on multi-year partnerships.

Michael Ehrlich

Basketball star Bella Hines has signed an NIL deal with Jordan Brand.
Basketball star Bella Hines has signed an NIL deal with Jordan Brand. / Jordan Brand

It has been quite a week across the basketball sneaker industry, especially in the NIL space. Footwear giants adidas, Nike and their Jordan Brand all revealed new partnerships with high school and college stars, garnering national headlines and making history in the process.

Jordan Brand tipped off the action this week by announcing 5-star 2025 recruit Bella Hines (ABC Prep High School in Albuquerque, NM) as their only current high school NIL partner. The 5'9" scoring guard officially signed with LSU this week as well, joining the top-ranked recruiting class in the nation with three other 5-star prospects.

Hines follows in the footsteps of future LSU teammate Mikaylah Williams who signed with Jordan in the Spring and current UCLA star point guard Kiki Rice who became the first Jumpman NIL athlete while in high school.

“Where I’m from, not a lot of people have this opportunity, so I feel like I bring hunger and grind. I feel like I bring a different type of spice to Jordan," she told Footwear News.

adidas and their new President of Women's Basketball Candace Parker made history this week by signing their first girl's high school player in 16-year-old Kaleena Smith (Ontario Christian High School in Ontario, CA). The top prospect in the class of 2027, Smith is a member of the 2024 USA Women's U17 National Team and was named the 2023-2024 Girls Basketball MaxPreps National Freshman of the Year last season.

The WNBA legend Parker - who retired from the league in the Spring after three championships and two MVP awards - has made a quick mark on the adidas brand, adding Smith to their roster of WNBA stars such as Chelsea Gray, Kahleah Copper, Aliyah Boston, Aaliyah Edwards and Nneka Ogwumike, among others.

"When I think about the future of women’s basketball, it’s clear it’s in good hands with hoopers like Kaleena,” Parker said. “Not only is she a tenacious competitor on the court, she’s also someone who understands what’s required of it and is committed to putting in the work. We couldn’t be prouder to welcome her to the sisterhood of talented women who make up adidas Women’s Basketball.”

Nike wrapped the week by revealing a robust roster of high school and college stars, positioned to be future top WNBA and NBA Draft picks in the years to come.

Top high school recruits Jazzy Davidson (Clackamas High School in Oregon) Jerzy Robinson (Sierra Canyon High School in California) and AJ Dybantsa (Utah Prep High School) join current Rutgers freshman duo Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper on Nike's NIL roster.

Bailey and Harper are expected to be top picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, while Dybantsa is projected to go No. 1 in 2026. Davidson has already signed to join fellow Nike athlete JuJu Watkins at USC next year while Robinson - the top recruit in the 2026 class - has yet to announce her next destination.

The global sports brand leader announced their class with a video on social media featuring Kevin Durant's narration. The content is part of Nike's polarizing "This Family Isn’t For Everyone" campaign.

Basketball fans can follow Sports Illustrated's Kicks On SI for all their footwear news from the high school and college ranks and beyond.

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Michael Ehrlich
MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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