Adidas-Nike Split Won’t Stop Hunter, Sanders From Collaborating

Heisman Trophy winner Travis Hunter and Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders will take the field together for the final time as college teammates at the Alamo Bowl on Dec. 28.

It’s the closing of a big chapter for the close friends, who played together the past two seasons in Boulder, and in 2022 at Jackson State. Once they officially turn professional, Hunter and Sanders will be headed in different directions on multiple fronts.

Both players are projected to be top-five picks in the NFL Draft, making it extremely unlikely they’ll play on the same team as rookies. 

They’ll also be representing different apparel brands both on and off the field. Last week, Hunter signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. That move came despite Hunter’s strong relationship with Sanders, who became Nike’s first college football NIL (name, image, and likeness) athlete in August. The Swoosh also outfits Colorado’s sports teams. 

But despite the division, the agency that represents Hunter and Sanders for off-field business ventures sees opportunities for them to cash in together as pros. 

“Absolutely. It doesn’t end here for them,” SMAC Entertainment cofounder and CEO Constance Schwartz-Morini said when asked about the players working together off the field during an interview with Front Office Sports. “This is a real friendship and family dynamic that won’t end when their time at Colorado’s up.”

How Hunter Chose Adidas

Hunter had an opportunity to potentially sign with Nike, but the Three Stripes ultimately won out.

“He received interest from all the majors,” Schwartz-Morini said of the brands that courted Hunter. “[Adidas] was just who he connected with, and they leaned in to the values that he has and what was important to him and just really understood him.”

Signing Hunter would have given Nike a Colorado trifecta along with Sanders and his father, Deion, who reunited with the brand in 2023 after a stint with Under Armour.

“Travis has had a very clear point of view,” Schwartz-Morini said. “And we really respect what was important to him, and his fiancé, and everybody that they were embracing with the deal.”

Dealmakers

Hunter is ending his collegiate career with a beefy roster of NIL deals:

• JLab headphones 
• NerdWallet 
• United Airlines 
• Celsius 
• Overtime
• Buffalo Wild Wings 
• EA Sports (a College Football 25 cover athlete)

Schwartz-Morini hopes to transition as many of those NIL deals into professional endorsement pacts as possible but said those conversations won’t begin until January. 

While none of Hunter’s NIL deals had any financial escalators for winning the Heisman, his representatives at SMAC were already meeting on Sunday to discuss how they could use the award to maximize his future value, Schwartz-Morini said.