LSU’s recruiting pitch just got louder. Players on Lane Kiffin’s 2026 roster are already earning serious NIL money, backed by more than $43 million in booster support, according to national reports.

That is where Nike steps in. After Kiffin helped line up one of the biggest roster spends in college football, the brand is now giving LSU athletes a bigger stage in its national campaigns. For a program trying to turn its massive spending into wins and recruits, the timing of this NIL boost is hard to miss.

Last year, Nike introduced its Blue Ribbon Elite NIL program with 10 LSU athletes, including women’s basketball guard ZaKiyah Johnson and football tight end Trey’Dez Green. This week, the brand added a “Back to School” NIL campaign featuring football’s Whit Weeks and softball’s Kylee Edwards alongside Green and Johnson, LSU announced on July 10. The full list of LSU athletes in the program has not been made public.

Louisiana Sports’ Matt Moscona reported on X on July 11 that he expects the number of LSU athletes in Nike’s NIL deal to grow, possibly to as many as 30 this year. He added that the back-to-school campaign will run in Nike stores across the U.S. and on the brand’s digital platforms worldwide.

“I’m told that number will increase, possibly as much as triple, this year [compared to last year’s 10]. This back-to-school campaign will run globally, digitally, and in stores nationally,” wrote Moscona on X on July 11.

This opportunity from Nike will not only help to enhance these athletes’ popularity but also add more to their NIL. As per LSU’s current roster valuation, On3 reports that Whit Weeks will receive $693K and Trey’Dez Green $435K. But now, those amounts will get a definite rise as the four athletes were selected based on their best performance. Last season, Green, as a junior, recorded 433 yards, while Weeks returned to play for the Tigers as one of the nation’s top LBs.

With a massive roster valuation, along with coaching buyouts, LSU now faces a financial burden. But the most intriguing fact is that the Tigers found a solution. LSU President Wade Rousse and Tiger Athletic Foundation CEO Matt Borman have invited 40 top donors to the Louisiana Governor’s Mansion to discuss a new revenue plan for athletics.

Details have not been shared, but LSU has called the presentation “the first of its kind nationally.” On the revenue side, LSU already has a multiyear, eight-figure jersey-patch deal with Woodside Energy, according to reports. The school will need every dollar it can find to ease its more than $70 million hole.

LSU athletes’ thoughts on the new opportunity

In today’s college football, NIL means something different than it did a few years ago. Schools can now share revenue directly with athletes under new rules. Even so, a deal with a global brand like Nike still carries special weight for LSU players, both for their wallets and their long-term brands.

“You grow up wearing Nike,” said ZaKiyah Johnson, as reported by LSU Sports. “It’s one of the biggest brands in the world. Being able to represent that for myself, my team, and for the school, and to be the first to do it—hard work pays off. This is what I came to LSU for, to create a brand for myself.”

Not only was the LSU women’s basketball standout excited about the deal, but TE Trey’Dez Green also called the opportunity a “blessing.”

“I wake up every day and say, ‘I’m a Nike athlete; it’s crazy,'” said Green. “I get the chance to do stuff that me and my friends always talked about and dreamed about. It’s a blessing. I came from Jackson, Louisiana. I get chills every time I think about it.”

The question now is how LSU uses this Nike deal to win the next recruiting battles. For high school stars watching, the math is simple. LSU can sell a Nike-backed NIL path on top of its roster spending, while many rivals are still figuring out how to pay that kind of money.