Adidas strikes landmark deal with Miami-Dade Schools – NBC 6 South Florida
Miami-Dade County Public Schools announced a landmark partnership with Adidas on Monday.
The deal is worth $13.5 million for five years. Adidas will outfit every student athlete from the 40 high schools that make up the Greater Miami Athletic Conference. The district held a fashion show of sorts, with hundreds of athletes on the field at Traz Powell Stadium, showing off their new uniforms and gear.
“From Miami-Dade County Public Schools, we provide an amazing pipeline of talent into sports, not only at the state level, but also at the national level, so we are again, promoting, validating, embracing the incredible talent that we have in MDCPS,” said Superintendent Dr. Jose Dotres.
Before they struck the deal with Adidas, every school had to fundraise or dip into its general funds to buy gear for its teams. Now they won’t have that financial burden.
“It’s about the athlete, the student athlete, it really is, our commitment to investing in sport, this is really the epitome of our strategy and our mission, which is really serving athletes from the brand perspective, we’re about sport and serving the kids,” said Kelly Morris of Adidas.
Adidas isn’t doing this for charity. The company is investing in future star athletes, and they also get most of the profit from a new website set up by the school district. The site features official Adidas-brand merchandise for all the local high schools.
They also get naming rights. It’s now Adidas Field at Traz Powell Stadium.
I asked flag football player Genaia Davis, from Homestead High School, what she and her teammates thought of their new look.
“Man, this gear is tough, I’m not even gonna lie, I’ve been a fan of Adidas for a long time so I’m really glad we got the opportunity to showcase the uniform, see the cleats on my feet right now, they feel good, I was just getting a couple of reps in, felt great, amazing, I love it,” Davis said.
“Man, we look fly, we feel fly, and we’re playing fly for sure,” added Emmanuel Simmons, a cornerback for Northwestern High. “You know we just won on Saturday night, me and my guys, we’re ready for it all and this new adidas gear is convenient, you know, look good, play good.”
A school district spokesperson said it’s hard to quantify how much money the district will save because it’s never had a partnership like this before. It’s also unknown how much each high school will save now that they won’t have to dip into their own funds to pay for basic sports gear.
Adidas is also offering gear to the district at a discount, so from the perspective of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, this deal is a win-win.