Adidas
German sportswear company that ended its Yeezy partnership with Ye (Kanye West) in October 2022
- Entries
- 30
- On the record
- 13
- Stories
- 1
- Latest entry
- Apr 29, 2026
The record
- €250Mshort-term hit to 2022 net income adidas expected when it ended the Ye partnership on October 25, 2022
- €1.4Brevenue from selling the leftover Yeezy stock: around €750 million in 2023 and around €650 million in 2024
- €500Mextra operating-profit hit adidas warned of in February 2023 if it wrote off all Yeezy stock instead of selling it
- 9 monthsprison sentence of former adidas basketball marketing executive James Gatto in the 2019 NCAA corruption case
Adidas ended its Yeezy partnership with Ye, formerly Kanye West, on October 25, 2022, calling his comments and actions unacceptable, hateful and dangerous. It stopped production and all payments and expected a hit of up to €250 million to 2022 net income. In February 2023 it warned that unsold Yeezy stock could cost it €1.2 billion in revenue, with a further €500 million if written off. Instead it sold the stock in 2023 and 2024 for about €1.4 billion and committed large donations to groups fighting discrimination and hate.
Both legal fights over the split are over. Adidas says the arbitration it began against Ye in 2022, and his counterclaims, were settled in July 2024 with all claims withdrawn; its chief executive said in October 2024 that no money changed hands. A shareholder class action in Oregon was dismissed in August 2024, and the Ninth Circuit upheld that dismissal in December 2025.
Beyond Yeezy, a former adidas basketball marketing executive, James Gatto, was convicted in 2018 of wire fraud over payments to the families of recruits and jailed for nine months. Adidas lost its EU any-direction three-stripe mark in 2019 and its U.S. stripes case against Thom Browne in 2023. German customs and the European Public Prosecutor's Office are examining its import duties, and it is disputing a customs claim in South Africa.
Questions people ask
Why did Adidas end its Yeezy deal with Kanye West?
Adidas said on October 25, 2022 that it does not tolerate antisemitism or other hate speech and that Ye's recent comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful and dangerous and violated its values. It ended the partnership immediately, stopped Yeezy production and stopped all payments to Ye and his companies. source
What did Adidas do with the leftover Yeezy shoes?
As sole owner of the designs, it began selling them in May 2023. The sales brought in around €750 million in 2023 and €650 million in 2024, and by December 31, 2024 it held no Yeezy products. It committed to donating a significant amount to organisations fighting discrimination and hate, including through a foundation. source
Did Adidas and Kanye West settle?
Yes. Adidas's annual reports say the arbitration and Ye's counterclaims were settled in July 2024 and both sides withdrew their claims. Chief executive Bjørn Gulden disclosed the settlement in October 2024 and said it included no payments either way. source
What happened to the Adidas shareholder lawsuit over Ye?
A fund holding adidas ADRs sued in Oregon in 2023, alleging adidas hid the risks of the Ye partnership. The district court dismissed the case in August 2024, and on December 3, 2025 the Ninth Circuit affirmed, holding that a reasonable investor would know a partnership with a celebrity like Ye carried inherent risks. source
What was the Adidas NCAA basketball scandal?
In 2017 federal prosecutors charged adidas basketball marketing director James Gatto and others with funnelling payments to the families of recruits to steer them to adidas-sponsored schools. A Manhattan jury convicted Gatto in October 2018, he was sentenced to nine months in March 2019, and an appeals court upheld the convictions in 2021. source
Is Adidas under investigation?
Adidas reports that in December 2024 the European Public Prosecutor's Office, supported by German customs, searched adidas sites in Germany and Austria and is investigating suspected import duty evasion. Adidas says it has paid the disputed duties, has appealed, and is cooperating fully. source
Did Adidas lose its three-stripes case against Thom Browne?
Yes. A New York jury found in January 2023 that Thom Browne's four-stripe designs did not infringe or dilute the adidas mark. The Second Circuit affirmed in May 2024 and in April 2026 upheld the refusal to reopen the case. source
Roles and honours on the record
- 1949 Registered as 'Adolf Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik' in Herzogenaurach, Germany source
- until 2022 Owner of Reebok, sold to Authentic Brands Group source
- until October 2022 Partner of Ye in the adidas Yeezy business, sole owner of the Yeezy designs source
- 2021-2026 Plaintiff, trademark suit against Thom Browne, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York source
- 2023-2025 Defendant, securities class action in the U.S. District Court in Portland, Oregon; dismissal affirmed by the Ninth Circuit source
Every entry, newest first
- Reported
Adidas said it was terminating its partnership with Ye immediately and stopping all payments to Ye and his companies. Adidas ended its Ye deal, warning of a €250M hit
Stories in this file
The record, entry by entry
Yeezy and the Ye split
- 2022 Filed After terminating the Yeezy partnership, adidas initiated arbitration proceedings against Kanye West and entities he controls, claiming damages among other things; the defendants filed counterclaims. adidas Annual Report 2024, notes
- 2022-10-25 Official Adidas terminated the Ye partnership with immediate effect, ended production of Yeezy products and stopped all payments to Ye and his companies, saying his comments and actions were unacceptable, hateful and dangerous. It expected a hit of up to €250 million to 2022 net income. adidas press release
- 2022-11-09 Reported Reporting third-quarter results, adidas cut its 2022 forecast for net income from continuing operations to about €250 million, from about €500 million, with the Yeezy termination built into the guidance, CNBC reported. CNBC report
- 2023 Official Selling leftover Yeezy product in the second and third quarters added around €750 million to adidas's 2023 sales and around €300 million to operating profit; its costs included more than €140 million of donations and accruals for further donations. adidas Annual Report 2023, income statement
- 2023 Official Adidas agreed to donate €115.3 million over several years to its new foundation, adidas Stiftung; in March 2024 the amount was cut by €9.2 million, which was given to another foundation combating antisemitism. adidas Annual Report 2024, related parties note
- 2023-02-09 Official Adidas said not selling its Yeezy stock would lower 2023 revenue by around €1.2 billion and operating profit by around €500 million, that writing the stock off would cost a further €500 million, and that with one-off costs it could report a €700 million operating loss. adidas ad hoc announcement
- 2023-05 Official At the annual shareholders' meeting, chief executive Bjørn Gulden said money from selling Yeezy stock would go to organisations hurt by Ye's statements. Adidas says it announced that month that it would begin selling the remaining inventory. The Forward (JTA) report
- 2024 Official Adidas completed the sale of its remaining Yeezy inventory in the fourth quarter, generating revenues of around €650 million and an operating profit contribution of around €200 million, and recorded liabilities for related donations. adidas Annual Report 2024
- 2024-07 Official Adidas and West settled the arbitration and counterclaims, and both sides withdrew their claims; adidas released around €100 million of prior-year accruals after the settlement and booked provisions of a similar amount for further donations. adidas Annual Report 2024
- 2024-10 Official Adidas signed a second donation agreement with adidas Stiftung, committing a further €106 million over ten years. At the end of 2024 it owed the foundation €195.2 million in nominal terms. adidas Annual Report 2024, related parties note
- 2024-10-29 Reported Gulden told journalists that adidas and Ye had settled out of court and withdrawn all claims, and that the agreement included no payments either way. Claims Journal (Bloomberg) report
Investor lawsuit over Ye
- 2023 Filed Hampton Roads Shipping Association - International Longshoremen's Association Funds, a buyer of adidas ADRs, filed a securities class action in the U.S. District Court in Portland, alleging misleading statements about risks from the West partnership. Adidas said it rejects the allegations in full. adidas Annual Report 2024, notes
- 2024-08 Ruled The U.S. District Court in Portland granted adidas's motion to dismiss the securities class action. The plaintiff appealed in October 2024 to the Ninth Circuit. adidas Annual Report 2024, notes
- 2025-12-03 Ruled The Ninth Circuit affirmed the dismissal of the investor suit against adidas and finance chief Harm Ohlmeyer, holding that a reasonable investor would know a partnership with a celebrity like Ye carried inherent risks and would not be misled by adidas's risk disclosures. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, memorandum
NCAA basketball corruption case
- 2017-09-26 Filed Federal prosecutors in Manhattan charged ten people in a college basketball bribery case, including James Gatto, adidas's director of global sports marketing for basketball, accused of funnelling payments to steer recruits to adidas-sponsored schools. NPR report
- 2018-10-24 Ruled A Manhattan federal jury convicted Gatto on all three counts against him, including wire fraud, for a scheme to pay high school players to attend adidas-sponsored universities. Former adidas consultant Merl Code and Christian Dawkins were also convicted. Reuters report (via FashionNetwork)
- 2019-03-05 Ruled U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan sentenced Gatto to nine months in prison and Code and Dawkins to six months each, saying he wanted to send a warning to the basketball world. PBS NewsHour (AP) report
- 2021-01-15 Ruled A federal appeals court in New York upheld the convictions of Gatto, Code and Dawkins for paying money from adidas to the families of recruits bound for Kansas, Louisville and NC State. ABC11 (ESPN) report
Three-stripe trademark cases
- 2019-06-19 Ruled The EU General Court upheld the cancellation of adidas's EU trade mark for three parallel stripes applied in any direction, finding adidas had not proved the mark had acquired distinctive character through use across the EU. The challenge was brought by Shoe Branding Europe. General Court of the EU, press release 76/19
- 2021-06 Filed Adidas sued Thom Browne in the Southern District of New York for trademark infringement and dilution, alleging that its four-stripe sportswear and footwear imitated the adidas three stripes. The Fashion Law case timeline
- 2023-01 Ruled After an eight-day trial in New York, a federal jury found that Thom Browne did not infringe or dilute the adidas three-stripe mark with its four-stripe designs. The Fashion Law report
- 2024-05-03 Ruled The Second Circuit affirmed the judgment for Thom Browne, rejecting adidas's arguments about the jury instructions, and the district court denied adidas's separate bid for a new trial the same day. The Fashion Law report
- 2026-04-29 Ruled The Second Circuit upheld the refusal to reopen the Thom Browne case, finding that internal Thom Browne emails adidas obtained in separate U.K. litigation would probably not have changed the verdict. The Fashion Law report
Customs and tax disputes
- 2012 Official Adidas reports that legal uncertainties arose from financial irregularities at Reebok India Company in 2012; it says the ultimate risk cannot yet be determined but that a cash outflow is remote. adidas Annual Report 2025, contingencies note
- 2018-06 Official The South African Revenue Service ruled that adidas owed customs payments, interest and penalties of ZAR 1,871 million for 2007 to 2013 over the customs value of imports. Adidas sued in the High Court in 2019 and has recognised no provision. adidas Annual Report 2025, contingencies note
- 2021-12 Official The main customs office in Nuremberg began customs audits of adidas imports from outside the EU for the period from October 2019. Adidas paid the additional duties assessed through 2023 but appealed the notices; the audits have been suspended since March 2023. adidas Annual Report 2025, contingencies note
- 2024-12 Official The European Public Prosecutor's Office, supported by German customs investigators, searched selected adidas sites in Germany and Austria as part of an investigation into suspected import duty evasion. Adidas says it is cooperating fully and expects no material impact. adidas Annual Report 2025, contingencies note
Corporate history
- 1949 Official 'Adolf Dassler adidas Sportschuhfabrik' was registered in Herzogenaurach, and founder Adi Dassler launched a sports shoe with the 3-Stripes. adidas Annual Report 2024
- 2022-03-01 Official Authentic Brands Group announced it had completed the acquisition of Reebok from adidas, first announced in August 2021, calling it ABG's largest acquisition to date. Authentic Brands Group press release
Documents
- adidas press release, adidas terminates partnership with Ye immediately (Oct. 25, 2022)
- adidas ad hoc announcement, outlook for 2023 and the Yeezy inventory (Feb. 9, 2023)
- adidas Annual Report 2023, income statement (Yeezy sales and donations)
- adidas Annual Report 2024 (litigation note on the Yeezy arbitration and the Portland class action)
- adidas Annual Report 2025, other financial commitments and contingencies (customs, SARS, Ninth Circuit)
- Ninth Circuit memorandum, HRSA-ILA Funds v. adidas AG, No. 24-6655 (Dec. 3, 2025)
- General Court of the EU, press release 76/19, Case T-307/17 adidas v EUIPO (June 19, 2019)
- U.S. Attorney's Office SDNY, former adidas executive, consultant and aspiring manager sentenced (Mar. 5, 2019)
- NPR report on the September 2017 college basketball charges
- ABC11 report on the Second Circuit upholding the convictions (Jan. 15, 2021)
- The Fashion Law report on the Second Circuit ruling in adidas v. Thom Browne (May 2026)
- Claims Journal (Bloomberg) report on the Ye settlement (Oct. 29, 2024)
- Authentic Brands Group, completion of the Reebok acquisition (Mar. 1, 2022)