After a period of separation, Kanye West and adidas have reached an agreement settling all legal disputes.
As previously reported by AFROTECH™, Ye’s partnership with the retailer began back in 2013. According to The New York Times, he secured one of the most lucrative deals ever for a non-athlete. By 2016, the rapper signed a new contract that significantly boosted earnings for the Yeezy brand. That same year, West shared that his shoes were selling out within minutes, moving 40,000 pairs at a time, Forbes notes.
The partnership ultimately generated $2 billion in annual revenue for adidas by 2022, according to The Washington Post. Bloomberg reported that Yeezy made up half of adidas’ total profits before they went their separate ways, highlighting the partnership’s success.
This achievement helped West reach unicorn status, though he lost it after ties were severed following his antisemitic comments in 2022.
“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism or any form of hate speech. Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous, violating the company’s values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect, and fairness,” the company stated at the time.
The termination of West’s partnership with adidas took effect immediately, halting Yeezy production. The sale of some remaining Yeezy inventory resumed in 2023, with adidas achieving sales of over $400 million by the second quarter, as previously reported by AFROTECH™. In 2024, more Yeezy inventory was sold, leading to about $193 million in operating profit for adidas within the first nine months, a press release announced.
“Our focus is now to continue this momentum and to build a solid platform for future growth and to make adidas a great company again,” said adidas CEO Bjørn Gulden about its overall performance in the third quarter.
Furthermore, it appears that any legal issues between West and Adidas were resolved, as shared by Rolling Stone. The case was settled in court without financial exchange, and both parties withdrew their claims.
“Both parties said we don’t need to fight anymore and withdrew all the claims,” Gulden said, according to Rolling Stone. “No one owes anybody anything anymore. So whatever was is history.”
