Adidas Launches Affiliate Program For More Than 50K Student-Athletes

Sportswear giant adidas is launching an affiliate program that will allow student-athletes to become paid brand ambassadors.

The new program will be open to eligible student-athletes at Adidas-partnered NCAA Division I (D-1) universities and will be rolled out in four phases starting this fall, beginning with its partners at historically Black colleges and universities and the Power-5 Conference.

By April 2023, the program will fully scale to include all Adidas-partnered schools and will be open to more than 50,000 student-athletes.

“We hope to uplift student-athletes by providing educational opportunities to learn more about the NIL and business landscape, which may include bringing them into brand moments and campaigns, partnerships with existing brand athlete partners and ambassadors,” said Jim Murphy, Adidas NCAA program lead.

“But really we want to open the doors to a more equitable future outside of just unlocking monetary rewards. We want to help them grow as student-athletes and set them up for a future beyond college sports.”

The affiliate program will initially offer access to commission links and will later provide elevated opportunities at a brand partnership and entrepreneurial level.

The move to launch a paid affiliate program for D-1 athletes is the first of its kind for any major sports brand. The initiative stems from the brand’s “Impossible Is Nothing” campaign, which aims to create a more equitable and inclusive future in sports.

The program offering follows the recent move to allow NIL college athletes to profit from their name, image and likeness.

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Originally published at https://retailbum.com on March 24, 2022.