Nike Under Fire For Building Sanders Family Tree With Shedeur as Travis Hunter Locks Deal With Arch Rivals

With the CFB season nearing its end, the elite players are beginning to divide into 2 distinct factions. Those preparing for December and the CFP, and those directly preparing for April’s NFL draft. Begrudgingly for Travis Hunter, he falls in the latter category. However, that has its perks, too. They say, “To the victor go the spoils”. But Travis Hunter stays winning off the gridiron if not on it. Christmas has come early in the Hunter household.

Merely 3 days before he trudges to the Heisman Ceremony as the favorite, Travis Hunter is bearing the fruit of his labor. He has penned a deal with Adidas, which will see him rep the iconic 3 stripes during his NFL escapades.“The partners they currently have are top tier with some of the best young guys like me. I’m pumped to join the three stripes as we continue pushing the boundaries of the sport we all love,” he said. He joins a stacked Adidas roster in the pros, including the likes of Kansas City Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes and Cowboys’ Micah Parsons. Travis also received a limited edition apparel collection with Adidas. However, the birth of this relationship wasn’t exactly linear.

For the longest time, Travis was expected to sign with Nike instead. This stems from the fact that he’s worn Nike cleats and gear throughout his collegiate career at Colorado due to the brand’s affiliation with the school. His HC, Deion Sanders, and teammate Shedeur are also directly affiliated with Nike. Travis has rocked Deion’s signature cleat, the Nike DT Max ‘96, during his Heisman-worthy campaign.

In a recent interview, Travis Hunter actually hinted at why he opted to sign with Adidas over their adversaries. He also fired what can be perceived as some subliminal shots at Nike.“[Adidas are] definitely a family-oriented organization…they always kept everybody close. They never hid nothing from me and the more conversations that I have made me feel more like home,” he said. The figures of the deal remain inconspicuous at this moment. Best believe Adidas threw the proverbial kitchen sink at their newest superstar.

With the clear advantage Nike held in this race from the onset, it is rather appalling that Travis won’t be a proponent of the “Swoosh” instead. Naturally, this left football fans bemused. While many presumed the decision came down to Travis’ own choice, that wasn’t the consensus notion. The feeling around the CFB sphere is that Nike has made a massive error of judgement. People echoed this sentiment on social media.

Football fans express their views on Nike’s failure to land Travis Hunter

Not only have Nike failed to recruit a future face of the sport, they allowed him to walk across to their nemesis.”How nike fumble this one”, said a bewildered fan in the comments section of Travis and Adidas collaborative IG announcement. Another pointed at the Deion factor and how that should’ve essentially sealed it. “Nike sold he’s basically Deion son,” they said.

“Nike just lost a bag, coulda had shedeur and trav..” read another comment. Strictly from a marketing standpoint, you’ve got to think that Nike would’ve squeezed a lot of juice out of having the duo on their books. Instead, they’ve seemingly opted to continue their long-standing partnership with the Sanders clan by itself. “Bro gotta go put all of Coach Primes shoes back in his office now😂” said another person. It’s only a matter of when, not if, that Adidas releases a signature line of Travis Hunter cleats.

One comment perhaps epitomized the ordeal pertaining to the two sportswear giants. “Adidas say they will never make the Jordan mistake ever again lol” Travis may not quite be to Adidas what Micheal Jordan is to Nike. But this could well be a microcosm of the dynamic shifting around the sport. Fellow Heisman finalist Cam Ward is also an Adidas athlete. With them making inroads with a couple of young stars, Adidas’ ensuing lineage in the NFL looks strong.