Cooper Flagg’s Biggest Duke Moments Are Coming in Nike Sneakers — But He’s a New Balance Athlete
Cooper Flagg climbed the latter to cut off a piece of the net Saturday after securing the Duke Blue Devils’ place in the Final Four after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide. The favorite to win the Naismith Men’s Player of the Year award did so while wearing a commemorative T-shirt and hat, as well as the shorts from his uniform and a pair of crisp white sneakers made for the 2025 NBA All-Star Game.
All of these items carried Nike Swooshes, but Flagg signed a name, image and likeness deal with New Balance before the season began. It’s a complicated situation, but one that could prove all the more valuable for New Balance when the phenom joins the NBA as the likely no. 1 pick in the summer.
In the new era of NIL deals, Flagg isn’t the first athlete endorse an athletic brand while playing for a college program sponsored by another. Reigning Heisman winner Travis Hunter signed a deal with Adidas shortly before playing his final game with the Nike-sponsored Colorado Buffaloes in December. North Carolina Tar Heels basketball player Ian Jackson is sponsored by Adidas as well, despite playing for Jordan Brand-sponsored school.
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Although there’s no overarching rule for the NCAA, athletic brands typically prohibit a program’s players from wearing any competing brand in an official team capacity, the most important of which would be games.
One exception was seen in last, as two Rutgers Scarlet Knights basketball players, Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper, wore Nike sneakers along with their team’s Adidas-branded practice apparel. The school’s contract with Adidas had been expired since the end of the 2022-2023, but Adidas continued to outfit the athletic programs at a discounted rate sans a contract, as reported by the Asbury Park Press. Later in 2024, Rutgers entered into a new deal with Nike.
Some state laws, such as in Florida and George, also prohibit a college athlete from signing an NIL deal that conflicts with their respective university’s own contracts, according to Above the Law.
If you scroll through Cooper’s Instagram page, you’ll find him wearing both Nike and New Balance product. Never will you see him mixing the two, however. All shots of him wearing New Balance are completely devoid of any visual ties to Duke. And when you see him repping Duke, even in a campaign for another NIL sponsor, Uber Eats, in which he’s sitting in front of his locker with his uniform hanging, there’s no sign of Flagg’s allegiances to New Balance.
“Well it’s obviously a tough situation,” Flagg told the media ahead of Duke’s game against the Arizona Wildcats Thursday. “I love New Balance, but Duke is with Nike, so we have to do that for now.”
Nike itself even seemed to poke fun at the situation, posting and then deleting, “Powered by Nike” on X/Twitter following Duke’s Sweet 16 win.
During that game, as well as the Elite 8 and many other games this season, Flagg was wearing the Nike Kobe 6 Protro “All-Star 2.0.”
In the NBA, Flagg will have to continue wearing Nike uniforms, as the league has a contract with the Swoosh that will run at least until 2037. But provided he remains with New Balance, as is typically the case when collegiate athletes turn pro, he’ll finally be free to wear his sponsor’s sneakers on the court of play, as the league allows players to wear shoes of their choosing.
