Nike’s attempted comeback under new president and CEO Elliott Hill is showing some initial signs of life, with the sports apparel and footwear giant beating expectations in its most recent quarter.

The Oregon-based Nike said it generated $11.3 billion in revenue for its fiscal third quarter, down 9% from the comparable period last year but above analyst projections. Net income of $794 million also trailed last year’s third quarter by 32%, but that total, too, surpassed the relatively tepid expectations of Wall Street—indicating there could be at least the roots of a recovery emerging.

“Look, it’s been a tough couple of years. We’ve been through a lot of change,” Hill said in an earnings call with analysts. “What’s encouraging is that in the 150 days since I’ve been back, we’ve reclaimed our identity. We know who we are.”

Investors had mixed feelings on the sentiment of progress, initially sending up shares in Nike by more than 2% in after-hours trading Thursday before a subsequent decline of more than 4%. The stock is down by 17% in the last six months, driven significantly by internal turbulence that has included leadership turnovers, multiple rounds of layoffs, and sliding company performance in the wake of heightened competition. 

Upcoming quarters will have more bumpiness with Nike detailing an outlook of further revenue and margin declines as the retooling continues. Hill, however, outlined a series of ongoing initiatives, including a slate of new products and retooled inventories. 

“Nike is getting back to being Nike again,” Jefferies analyst Randal Konik wrote in a research note. 

Hill also cited the brand’s work with the NFL and Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts leading up to and during Super Bowl LIX—including a hugely popular “Love, Hurts” hoodie and massive exposure during the halftime show—as a key initiative during the quarter. 

The latest financial results follow an expectedly downbeat report last fall for the fiscal first quarter and a similarly sluggish one in December for the fiscal second quarter. 

Leadership Shifts

Nike’s comeback bid, meanwhile, includes the departure of additional senior executives. Chief strategy and transformation officer Daniel Heaf had his role eliminated, with his teams now being moved to the company’s finance department. Chief communications officer KeJuan Wilkins is also exiting after nearly two decades with Nike.

These shifts follow several similar ones in recent months across other major departments including sports marketing, legal, and human resources.

Twelfth-seeded McNeese State, which pulled off a thrilling 69–67 upset of No. 5 Clemson on Thursday afternoon, is this year’s first Cinderella story of the NCAA tournament. The team’s most viral star isn’t even a player, though. It’s student manager Amir “Aura” Khan. 

Khan first went viral in February for a video posted on social media of him rapping Lud Foe’s “In & Out” while leading players out of the tunnel for a game against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, carrying a giant boombox around his shoulder. Since then, he’s become a sensation, leading his teammates onto the court while blasting the rap tunes.

Khan, a native of Lake Charles, La., and a senior at McNeese State, is also believed to be the first student-manager to land NIL (name, image, and likeness) deals. He also has partnerships with Buffalo Wild Wings and Insomnia Cookies, and has even worked with The NIL Store on custom merchandise. Through a deal with TickPick, he now carries a boom box with the company’s logo across the top. Just hours before tip-off Thursday, he posted another sponsored video promoting The Formula Bot.

The situation exposes the disparate manner in which the NCAA has insisted on treating college athletes, compared with their non-athlete student counterparts.  

Unlike “student-athletes,” student managers have never been precluded from capitalizing on their NIL potential. The NCAA prohibited players from signing NIL deals until it agreed to change its rules on July 1, 2021. But the NCAA has never implemented a rule against a student manager doing endorsement deals, or otherwise profiting from their own NIL.

“It’s just another demonstration about how the only concern the NCAA had for amateurism was regarding the players on the floor,” Boise State sports law professor Sam Ehrlich tells Front Office Sports.

So while players and student managers alike can now capitalize on their Cinderella moments during March Madness, the NCAA for years insisted on treating players differently than even the student workers sitting next to them on the bench.

Raiders defensive end Maxx Crosby held the distinction of “the NFL’s highest-paid non-quarterback” for just four days.

Earlier this month, after signing a three-year, $106.5 million extension with Las Vegas, Crosby’s new-money average annual value of $35.5 million was quickly topped by Browns defensive end Myles Garrett ($40 million), and then by Bengals receiver Ja’Marr Chase ($40.5 million).

That wasn’t a surprise to Crosby’s agent, CJ LaBoy, who was anticipating a big market shift this offseason for pass rushers, whom he expects to consistently be the richest non-quarterbacks.

“I do think the edge market will outpace the receiver market, simply because of the players that are coming up for contract extensions,” LaBoy, the SVP of Wasserman’s NFL division, told Front Office Sports.

LaBoy pinpointed Cowboys star Micah Parsons and Lions defensive end Aidan Hutchinson as the next two to break the record and doesn’t think a receiver will surpass Chase in the immediate future.

“The Bengals kind of backed themselves into a corner by being very public about saying they will make him the highest-paid non-quarterback,” LaBoy said. “So, as that market shifted, they lost control over it. They didn’t have a choice. They’ve already made that promise.”

When negotiating Crosby’s deal, LaBoy said it was “less about the arms race, and more about just doing the absolute best deal for the individual player,” which he feels is just as strong as Garrett’s contract, despite being of lower overall value.

Tom Brady’s Raiders Role

Crosby will be playing for his fifth Raiders head coach and GM (including interims) in Pete Carroll and John Spytek. But before signing his latest extension, Crosby also wanted to get to know the new minority owners in Las Vegas, including Tom Brady.

Raiders SVP and director of football administration Tom Delaney is the team’s primary contract negotiator, which made Crosby’s discussions with upper management more broadly focused. 

“It seems like across the league, the GMs are less involved with the negotiations of contracts,” LaBoy said. “Jon was involved in terms of making sure that their feelings for Maxx were communicated properly.”

And as far as Brady, who has been widely reported to be very involved in roster decisions thus far?

“Brady’s involvement was kind of similar—just communicating their ‘why,’” LaBoy said. “Why are they doing this? Why do they expect so much from Maxx specifically? What they’re trying to build there, the whole nine. But in terms of actually negotiating dollars and cents, they don’t get that involved in that part.”