Source: Johnny Nunez / Getty
Kanye West might be flirting with another divorce, this time with footwear giant adidas. The rapper is currently at the midpoint of a 10-year contract with the German sneaker company, but there are snapshots of West hanging out in L.A. over the weekend and clearly wearing a pair of Nike Vandal High “Terminator” kicks.
Although the terms of West’s deal Three Stripes are uncertain with regard to wearing competitors’ gear, it is likeliest a violation of their agreement and could be the final straw after a series of previous infractions. Kanye went on Twitter in August to praise Nike’s new age-y ISPA Road Warrior. “WOW SO COOL NIKE … KEEP INNOVATING … THE WOLRD NEEDS IT … GREAT JOB,” he wrote. “THESE BRING ME BACK TO MY CHILDHOOD … GROWING UP ON ANIME … I NEED A PAIR.”
The next month, West appeared on Nick Cannon’s show Cannon’s Class and joked about possibly negotiating a clause in his agreement so he could rock the Swoosh. “In my Adidas contract, [I] definitely should be able to wear Jordans,” West said. “Jordans need to be part of reparations. You can’t tell a Black man not to wear Jordans. It should be in any deal.”
Rumors are that West keeps name-dropping Nike with the hopes of reviving the Air Yeezy project and getting some royalties if that ever is realized. It is clear that his breakup with the Swoosh left Ye sour, however, as evidenced by songs like 2015’s “Facts” with its lyrics such as “Herzog and Adidas, man you know they love it/ If Nike ain’t have Drizzy [Drake], man they wouldn’t have nothin’/If Nike ain’t have Don C, man they wouldn’t have nothin’.”
West has managed to remain under contract with Adidas despite his antics, but Three Stripes has terminated deals in the past for lesser offenses. NBA guard Terry Rozier was given his pink slip by the sneaker company in 2017 for wearing Nikes during a pregame shootaround, and that was just one year after he signed with Adidas. West may have more clout than Rozier, but it is only a matter of time before Adidas gets tired of the games and sends him walking, too.
