Tracy McGrady Confirmed Adidas Deal Despite Sour Fallout After $100M Deal

Sonny Vaccaro, the legendary sneaker exec who signed Michael Jordan to Nike, also brought Kobe Bryant to Adidas in 1996. Fast forward to 2002, Tracy McGrady became the face of Adidas basketball after Kobe famously turned down a $200 million Adidas offer to go sneaker-free (free agent, but wore various brands). Since then, Adidas has stacked a star-studded roster—James Harden, Damian Lillard, Donovan Mitchell, and Anthony Edwards. McGrady left in 2022, but now he’s reuniting with Adidas, bringing the magic full circle. It’s a move that’s equal parts nostalgia and hype, and fans are buzzing.

Tracy “T-Mac” McGrady first linked up with Adidas in 1997 at just 18, before even stepping on an NBA court, locking in a six-year, $12 million deal. Growing up in a tough, drug-plagued neighborhood in central Florida, he called that moment “life-changing.” Millennials will always remember rocking his signature Adidas kicks like they were part of the uniform. After a three-year break in their decades-long partnership, McGrady is officially back with Adidas. ESPN’s Shams Charania broke the news Friday, and Adidas Basketball proudly welcomed the Hall of Famer home.

Tracy McGrady dropped the news on Gil’s Arena: “I have ABCD. We’re bringing ABCD back next year back. We’re bringing that back because of my relationship with Sonny Vaccaro. I reached out to him and asked him what he was doing with the property and told it might be an opportunity for us to bring ABCD back because I know Adidas wanted it. And this is when I didn’t extend my contract back with him. But I went to Sonny and asked what he wanted to do with that property. The Adidas wanted it. Can I license it or can I own it and take it to Adidas? He thought that was a great idea.” Alongside this reunion, fans can expect classic Orlando Magic colorways of the T-Mac 1 and T-Mac 2 to make a comeback, while the ABCD Camp itself gets a fresh revival.

For those who might not know, ABCD stands for Academic Betterment and Career Development, and it was one of the most iconic youth basketball camps in the U.S. from 1984 to 2006. Founded by sneaker and basketball legend Sonny Vaccaro, the camp became the proving ground for future NBA stars like Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Dwight Howard, Carmelo Anthony, and McGrady himself. T-Mac recalled, “Nobody had a clue who Tracy McGrady was. Sonny Vaccaro gave me that platform, and I played against the best players in the world at that time.” That 1996 showcase turned him from the 175th-ranked prospect into a McDonald’s All-American and laid the foundation for his Hall of Fame career.

Now, McGrady and Vaccaro are teaming up with Adidas to reimagine ABCD for today’s generation. With Vaccaro’s decades of experience in athlete endorsements and talent scouting and highlighted in the 2023 film Air for his role in launching the Air Jordan brand—the camp is set to once again be a stage for elite high school talent. The goal is clear: inspire, discover, and shape the next generation of basketball stars, just like it did for McGrady and so many others before him.

Tracy McGrady reflected on the rich history of the ABCD Camp and the stars it produced, saying, “There’s just so much rich history and great stories to be told from that. I think a lot of kids today will appreciate those stories because man, you think about it started in, what, ’85 or ’86 and ran all the way to 2006. And I like. I think KG and Bron, Kobe, myself, Lamar Odom, Melo, some top dogs in that joint.” The camp wasn’t just a playground—it was a launchpad for legends.

While Adidas played a huge role, signing Kobe Bryant in 1996 to help compete with Nike and Air Jordan, history shows how tricky these deals could be. Stokan, Adidas’ marketing whiz, tried signing Michael Jordan in the ’80s, even putting together a $2.6 million pitch, but Adidas passed, letting Nike snag MJ. Kobe’s deal with Adidas started strong but soured, ending bitterly in 2002 when he bought out his $8 million contract after a series of design disputes. It’s easy to see why T-Mac’s past issues with Adidas make more sense in this context.

T-Mac’s rocky road with Adidas

Back in 1997, an 18-year-old Tracy McGrady went straight from Mt. Zion Christian Academy to one of the biggest shoe deals of the era, a six-year, $12 million contract with Adidas. For a kid who had never played a college game, it was huge. But the real game-changer came in April 2002, when McGrady signed a $100 million lifetime deal with the brand. He later admitted that Kobe Bryant’s exit from Adidas made it possible: “If it wasn’t for Kobe leaving Adidas, I probably wouldn’t have gotten my big deal. I would’ve got leftovers. Man, my dog, thank you… I moved up the charts, boy. And s–, I got that big bag and still getting it.”

When Kobe bought out his Adidas deal for $8 million and moved to Nike, the German brand needed a new face and McGrady became their guy. He got six signature shoes, and the T-Mac line quickly became a cultural staple both on and off the court. Adidas went all-in, retroing his classics and pushing him as one of their global icons. For years, it looked like the perfect partnership: a $100M deal, booming sneaker sales, and T-Mac at the heart of Adidas basketball.

But by 2022, things had soured. Speaking at the Hashtag Sports Conference, McGrady admitted, “I’ve been with Adidas for 25 years, I think we’re coming to an end. … The treatment that I’ve gotten from them over the last ten years, it is what it is. I deserve better.” One major breaking point came when he launched his One’s Basketball League (OBL), a project Adidas didn’t support. “When I started OBL, I was told I couldn’t pull this off by Adidas. And so that’s why I feel that way,” he revealed.

By 2023, McGrady confirmed on Kevin Garnett’s podcast that his long partnership with Adidas was officially over. He’s now working on his own brand, TM1, hoping to create something that reflects his vision. Two years later, no TM1 sneaker has launched yet, but T-Mac’s stance is clear: after more than two decades, six signature shoes, and a $100M lifetime deal, he walked away to build a legacy on his own terms.