The Grateful Dead and Oregon Ducks Join Forces on a Grateful Ducks Nike Air Max 90

The Oregon Ducks have been one of college football's hottest programs the last two years. In 2024, the team went undefeated in the regular season, though they did lose in the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day to eventual champ Ohio State. The team is already off to a great start in 2025 with a 2-0 record, and they’ve looked great doing it, thanks to some of Nike’s coolest gear. We can’t predict how the team will keep playing but this trend of fire fits will continue as the Oregon Ducks and Nike launch a collaboration with the Grateful Dead on an Air Max 90 later this month.

It may not seem obvious at first, especially if you’re not a Deadhead, but the connection between the University of Oregon and the Grateful Dead goes back decades. The band played at Autzen Stadium 10 times between 1974 and 1994, and in total, they’ve played on campus more than 20 times. In celebration of the band’s 60th anniversary in 2025, the school will play a “tie-dye out” game against the Wisconsin Badgers on October 25. There’s already plenty of merch available through The Duck Store, featuring a mashup of the Oregon Ducks and Grateful Dead iconography. There’s even a hidden easter egg that showcases a yellow Grateful Dead bear rocking the upcoming Nike Air Max 90.

The pair comes with a mixture of materials, including mesh, suede, canvas, and chenille, the latter channeling the band's Nike SB project from years prior. Most of the model is clad in sail, with multi-color rainbow stitching used on each of the panels. Pops of yellow and green are found on the TPU eyelets, while the Swoosh is done in these two hues as well. However, the logo is coated in a chenille fabric and outlined with a sunny design. Multi-color tie-dye is applied to the canvas mudguard, leaning into the design aesthetics of the duo's co-branded merch. Finishing touches include an Oregon Ducks hangtag that reimagines the Grateful Dead's iconic bear graphic with the school's mascot, yellow details on the tongue tag, tongue lining, and midsole, and a green outsole.