Is Kai Cenat Still Signed to Nike?

Kai Cenat has a million subscribers on Twitch. The unbelievably popular streamer reached the goal over the weekend after hosting a Linkin Park concert, hanging out with Tony Hawk, and dropping a Crocs collab on his Mafiathon 3 stream. Cenat is the first Twitch user to reach the million-subscriber mark, but after the red and yellow clog showed up as part of the subscriber drive, it got us thinking about his status with Nike.

Kai signed a deal with Nike in February 2024. Cenat participated in the rollout of the Air Max DN and was featured in the campaign for the .SWOOSH Air Max 1 Low Poly, but controversy followed fast. The moment that stands out most was a Nike App link that drove traffic to a Kai Cenat live stream that featured models promoting adult content.

The relationship between one of the biggest sneaker brands and one of the biggest streamers hasn’t brought as much collaboration as we expected. To be fair, though, the deal was never announced by Nike PR, and specifics of the relationship were never made public. In March of this year, Kai was gifted a pair of Nigel Slyvester Brick by Brick Jordan 4s by none other than Jake from State Farm live on stream, but we’re not sure if The Swoosh was behind that one or if that was courtesy of Nigel (or Jake’s pockets).

Obviously, the new Crocs collab is the clearest example of frowned-upon activities if Kai were signed to an exclusive Nike deal, but there have been other head-scratching footwear choices as well. This includes a Time magazine feature shoot that showed Kai wearing a pair of Timberland boots and his choice to star in the campaign for the KidSuper x BAPE collection. Then again, Kai does have a fully Nike-branded home gym with a giant Swoosh on the wall, and LeBron is expected to join the stream soon.

So what gives? Was Kai “joining the Nike family” just a two-campaign promo deal, and they decided not to renew the contract? Did his no-holds-barred streaming style turn off the team in Beaverton enough to cut him loose? His recent collab with Crocs points to the relationship with Nike being over, but with Kai’s home gym still streaming content full of Nike branding, that may not be the case.

If we had to guess, Kai could still be a loose member of the Nike family when it comes to seeding, but we’d be surprised to see the relationship go further based on the weirdness of the entire situation thus far. For a guy who shares everything he does on camera, it feels like we may never know what actually happened between Kai and Nike.

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