Ohio State football fans have one question for Nike in the wake of the Jeremiah Smith news.
Smith, a rising sophomore, is poised to be one of the best players in the country in 2025. The All-American wide receiver had a standout season as a true freshman, helping lead the Buckeyes to the College Football Playoff national championship. Smith has at least two years of college football remaining.
This week, Smith announced some big news. He’s signed an endorsement deal with Adidas.
Smith took to X, formerly known as Twitter, to share the cool news.
“Three Stripes for life,” he wrote on X.
© Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It’s a big-time endorsement deal for Smith. However, it begs the question – where is Nike?
Ohio State, of course, is a Nike school – one of the biggest, in fact. The Buckeyes football players wear Nike jerseys, pants, socks, cleats, warmup gear, etc.
Why didn’t Nike shell out an endorsement deal for Smith, instead of letting Adidas scoop him up?
Ohio State fans are confused.
“Nike really let Adidas sign Jeremiah Smith even though they have a deal with Ohio State Athletics this is an all-time fumble by Nike,” one fan wrote.
“I’m sure Adidas offered a lot but for Nike not to match or exceed it is very surprising,” one fan added.
“When Nike does this. They do it because of liability reasons. If they see you as an unreliable investment/or if they feel they can’t find a long term structure for the investment. They will not green light it. Adidas & Reebok will snatch it up. They deal better in short term or high risk investments,” one fan added.
“He has to wear Nike in college and has to wear Nike in the NFL. He’s free promo. Nike is more of a Basketball company tho. That’s where the real money at,” one fan added.
Nike really let Adidas sign Jeremiah Smith even though they have a deal with Ohio State Athletics this is an all-time fumble by Nike. pic.twitter.com/Kh6KVWIUHe
— The Scarlet and Gray Podcast (@TheSG_Podcast) July 2, 2025
Smith will be rocking Nike on the field in 2025, but off of it, expect to see him in a lot of adidas.
Ohio State opens the 2025 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 30 against Texas.
