Candace Parker Tag Teams With adidas To Mentor Female Student-Athletes Through The NIL Era

As AfroTech previously told you, adidas pledged to welcome 50,000 student-athletes to join its network and become paid affiliates. Now, the vision is becoming a reality because adidas has signed its first group of 15 student-athletes, which includes Izzy Redmond, Erin Moss, Jameese Joseph, among others.

The announcement was made during the celebration of the 50th anniversary of Title IX.

“As a leading global sports brand, we’re focused on creating long-term equity in sport. That means both investing in the next generation of athletes today and also supporting them in the future,” said Rupert Campbell, president of adidas North America, in a statement. “We welcome this group of powerful student-athletes to the adidas family and look forward to working alongside them to define what is possible for the future of sport.”

The athletes will enter into name, image, and likeness (NIL) endorsement agreements with adidas that will include brand marketing campaigns highlighting their latest apparel and footwear.

“This is just above and beyond what I even thought. Joining adidas means so much. I mean, it’s a global brand that reaches so many people, and the fact that we’re here for Title IX just shows that they have these amazing standards that I am so honored to represent here,” said Moss, who is a volleyball player and honor roll student at Georgia Tech, according to a press release. “I feel like this is the right fit for me, and I can’t wait for the future with adidas.”

As adidas aims to set a new precedence for NIL opportunities, the company will utilize the momentum to launch equality initiatives for greater representation and opportunity in sports.

adidas is working alongside Candace Parker to mentor the new collegiate-athlete signees and help them navigate the new terrains of NIL deals.

“I have the incredible opportunity to pay it forward with the next generation of athletes,” said Candace Parker in a press release. “I am so happy to be partnered with adidas who is aligned with my commitment to developing this mentorship program which will set these extraordinary student-athletes up for greatness in sport and life.”