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Nike now fields three NIL-backed Buckeyes, signaling shift from solo stars to multi-athlete program clusters that reinforce apparel contracts.
85th-ranked
recruiting position in the 2025 class per 247Sports composite
34 yards
in the spring game
11-year, $252 million
apparel contract with Nike runs through 2033
2029 or 2030
Athletic director Ross Bjork
Nike signed Ohio State freshman receiver Chris Henry Jr. to its name, image and likeness roster Thursday, making him the third current Buckeye on the brand's collegiate NIL stable alongside defensive back Bo Jackson and running back Jermaine Mathews Jr. The deal was announced without financial terms, standard practice for Nike's collegiate NIL tier.
Henry arrives at Columbus carrying his father's name—Chris Henry Sr. played five NFL seasons before his death in 2009—and an 85th-ranked recruiting position in the 2025 class per 247Sports composite. He enrolled early in January and caught three passes for 34 yards in the spring game. Nike typically signs athletes before their freshman season starts or after a breakout sophomore campaign; Henry landed in the former window, suggesting the brand values bloodline narrative and early roster lock-in over proven college production.
The three-athlete cluster at Ohio State marks a shift in Nike's NIL posture. The brand launched its collegiate program in 2023 with individual marquee bets—USC quarterback Caleb Williams, LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne—but has quietly begun stacking rosters at select schools. Ohio State joins Oregon (four Nike NIL athletes as of April) and Texas (two) as programs with multiple Swoosh-backed players. The strategy mirrors what Under Armour attempted in 2021 with Maryland and what adidas runs at Miami, where it holds three NIL deals including quarterback Cam Ward.
For Ohio State, the Nike concentration creates leverage. The school's 11-year, $252 million apparel contract with Nike runs through 2033, and NIL deals function as relationship ballast when renewal talks begin in 2029 or 2030. Athletic director Ross Bjork, who arrived from Texas A&M in March, has publicly prioritized NIL infrastructure; stacking Nike-backed athletes gives the department three walking billboards who reinforce the institutional partnership without touching the athletic department's own NIL collective budget.
The deal also signals where Nike sees the receiver market moving. Henry's signing follows the brand's April addition of Arizona State freshman Jordon Davison, another early-enrolled wideout with NFL lineage but limited college film. Nike appears to be pre-empting the post-freshman bidding war that erupted around Missouri's Luther Burden III last summer, when multiple apparel brands and energy-drink sponsors circled after his 86-catch, 1,212-yard sophomore campaign drove his valuation past $500,000 annually, per industry estimates.
Ohio State plays its spring game on April 12. Henry will wear Nike from helmet to cleat, as will Jackson and Mathews. The Buckeyes open the 2025 season against Texas on August 30 in Columbus, a $7.5 million payout game that will put all three Nike athletes on national broadcast. Coordinator Chip Kelly's offense typically features three-receiver sets on 68% of snaps, per 2024 charting data, meaning Henry has a plausible path to rotation work by Week 3.
Nike's next likely move: another Ohio State signing before fall camp, probably a defensive lineman or linebacker, to balance the offensive tilt and lock down both sides of the recruiting pitch when 2026 commits take official visits in June.
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