Ole Miss is tied for second nationally in annual apparel money after leaving Nike for Adidas, on a deal reported north of $20 million a year and better than $140 million across its life. Penn State sits alone above that tier at roughly $30 million a year, with Tennessee the other program fighting for second. Adidas has planned to make Ole Miss one of its top two or three college football brands.
Locked On Ole Miss host Steven Willis argued the money was never really about the logo. Without the powder blue jerseys, he said, Ole Miss does not command $20 million on this deal. The color is the asset Adidas actually bought, and the creative control handed back is the rest of the price.
Willis said the powder blue has been the hottest color in college football for five to seven years and that Adidas had nobody in its portfolio wearing it, North Carolina included. He pointed at the warning: Mississippi State’s airplane jerseys are what happens when a school does not hold control of its own look.
The red numbers and stripes Lane Kiffin removed are reportedly returning, and Willis called a navy helmet over a white uniform with red stripes the best road set the program has. He wants the original tree-and-flower mark on the navy, red and white uniforms, with the modern logo reserved for the powder blue. Guest Tom Vanderford, who said the figure changed a long-held opinion of Adidas, noted Miami turned the same money down.
Kickoff at Vanderbilt is 2:30 Saturday with a tropical system tracking into central Mississippi. Willis expects gusts settling into the 20s rather than the 45 mph first forecast and little effect on the offense. Vanderford predicted 38-17.
Photo: Trinidad Chambliss, September 26, 2026, at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Pendleton-Imagn Images.
Adapted from the October 8, 2026 episode of Locked On Ole Miss, hosted by Steven Willis, part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Watch the full episode.