In a surprising shake-up of the college apparel landscape, Penn State announced Friday a new 10-year partnership with Adidas beginning in 2026, marking the end of its long-standing relationship with Nike. While the financial terms of the agreement remain undisclosed, industry experts are already speculating on its potential value — with one report citing sources that pegged it at about $300 million — and what it signals about Penn State’s place among the most valuable brands in college athletics.
Other universities partnered with Adidas include Arizona State, Georgia Tech, Indiana, Kansas, Louisville, Miami (Fl.), Mississippi State, NC State, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Washington. However, the Nittany Lions and Volunteers don’t begin their partnerships until 2026.
It’s no secret apparel companies don’t treat all their partners the same. Schools with bigger brands receive preferential treatment when it comes to financial compensation, resources and equipment, national ad campaigns, uniform options and exclusive releases. For these reasons, it’s important to be among the biggest brands within a company, and the Nittany Lions have an opportunity to be that with Adidas.
Here are the numbers.
Television viewership
According to College Football Network, here are Adidas schools ranked by the total number of viewers for football games in 2024.
- Tennessee (57,848,000)
- Penn State (45,882,000)
- Texas A&M (43,139,000)
- Nebraska (34,508,000)
- Indiana (34,480,000)
- Miami (33,686,000)
- Georgia Tech (24,782,000)
- Texas Tech (15,212,000)
- Washington (14,651,000)
- Arizona State (13,976,000)
- Kansas (12,926,000)
Mississippi State, NC State and Louisville weren’t included but would likely rank at or near the bottom.
Athletic department revenue:
Here’s how much revenue each Adidas athletic department brought in from the 2024 fiscal year, based on publicly available financial reports:
- Texas A&M ($266 million)
- Tennessee ($234 million)
- Penn State ($221 million)
- Nebraska ($220 million)
- Washington ($191 million)
- Miami ($183 million)
- Indiana ($174 million)
- Louisville ($151 million)
- Arizona State ($144 million)
- Georgia Tech ($141 million)
- Kansas ($135 million)
- NC State ($133 million)
- Mississippi State ($127 million)
- Texas Tech ($115 million)
Note: Miami is a private institution and does not have to release financial information. The figure used above comes from a report by Canes Warning.
Alumni base:
Though information on living alumni can be difficult to track down, it offers an insight into the university’s overall network and reach. Alumni can represent the program, market it and support it through donations and purchases.
Tracking down definitive numbers is difficult, but the following are estimates from a variety of sources about the number of living alumni from universities partnered with Adidas.
- Penn State (~800,000)
- Indiana (~775,000)
- Arizona State (~600,000)
- Washington (588,246)
- Texas A&M (~527,000)
- Kansas (~400,000)
- NC State (~300,000)
- Tennessee (290,649)
- Texas Tech (~220,000)
- Miami (~200,000)
- Nebraska (~200,000)
- Louisville (~170,000)
- Georgia Tech (~160,000)
- Mississippi State (~150,000)
Social media following:
Though it’s more so a measure of the size of the fanbase, social media following can indicate the reach and popularity of universities’ athletic departments. Typically, the football accounts have more followers than all other sports and even the university account itself. Here are the Adidas schools ranked by number of followers on football accounts across Instagram, Facebook and Twitter/X at the time of writing.
- Tennessee (2,336,000)
- Penn State (1,881,000)
- Miami (1,179,000)
- Texas A&M (966,000)
- Nebraska (932,000)
- Mississippi State (744,000)
- Washington (732,000)
- Texas Tech (554,000)
- Louisville (544,000)
- Arizona State (516,000)
- NC State (454,000)
- Kansas (394,000)
- Georgia Tech (342,000)
- Indiana (336,000)
Once again, the Volunteers and Nittany Lions make up the top two. Tennessee took the top spots on both Instagram and X, while Penn State led on FaceBook.
Conclusion:
When considering these factors, Penn State likely ranks as the largest or second-largest brand alongside Tennessee among schools partnered with Adidas. This puts the Nittany Lions in a premium position when it comes to priority from the apparel company. Compared to their standing with Nike, Penn State likely would’ve ranked behind a handful of schools.
The Volunteers will reportedly make $20 million per year over the next decade, though it’s possible the Nittany Lions will surpass that mark. In a release from the university, athletics director Pat Kraft said “Adidas is making an unprecedented commitment to Penn State: delivering record investment in our department,” implying an even greater deal than the one Tennessee recently signed.
Given the similarity of the brands, it’s unlikely to be a significantly larger contract, but it very well could be the largest Adidas has ever signed, likely in the $250-300 million range as has been reported. Because a significant portion of the deal is tied to NIL opportunities for athletes, which is an estimate, it’ll be difficult to fully measure.
The details of the Nittany Lions’ current deal with Nike haven’t been made public, but it’s safe to assume Adidas’ offer surpasses it. With more money, more NIL opportunities and a position as one of Adidas’ priority brands, Penn State is poised for financial success in an era of college athletics reliant on innovation in the revenue realm.
