Nike Grateful Ducks Collection
Release Date: Spring 2026
The Nike Grateful Ducks Collection is one of the most culturally layered collaborations in collegiate sports history, uniting three iconic institutions — Nike, the University of Oregon Ducks, and the Grateful Dead — under a shared legacy that stretches back nearly six decades. The connection between Eugene and the band is as organic as it gets: the Grateful Dead first played the University of Oregon's EMU Ballroom in 1968, and the relationship deepened from there, culminating in 10 legendary live shows at Autzen Stadium. This is the same city where Phil Knight founded Nike, where Ken Kesey brought the spirit of the Merry Pranksters home from San Francisco, and where counterculture and athletics have always coexisted more comfortably than anywhere else in America. The Grateful Ducks Collection is the natural product of all of that history colliding at once.
The collection — developed in partnership with creative label Class Trip — has grown into a full lifestyle universe that spans football, basketball, footwear, and fan apparel. The original October 2025 drop introduced the Nike Air Max 90 as its centrepiece, rendered in layered green and yellow hues inspired by Oregon's lush landscapes, with tie-dye accents, lightning bolt Swooshes, co-branded tongue tags, and custom sock liners nodding to the Dead's psychedelic iconography. The Grateful Dead's iconic Steal Your Face skull was reimagined as a duck — "Steal Your Duck" — becoming the collection's signature emblem across bomber jackets, hoodies, crew-neck sweatshirts, and tees. The February 27, 2026 chapter deepens the basketball angle, inspired by the Nike Sabrina 3 Grateful Ducks PE worn by the Oregon Ducks women's team in January, with a black basketball stamped with the lightning bolt skull logo in vibrant yellow leading a capsule of bold graphic tees, tie-dye long-sleeves featuring dancing bears alongside the Oregon duck mascot, reversible practice jerseys, and classic headwear.
What makes the Grateful Ducks Collection resonate far beyond college sports fans is how authentically every piece earns its reference. Nothing here feels like a licensing exercise — the Dead's DNA is woven into every design decision, from the swirling pink, yellow, and grey tie-dye finishes pulled straight from the band's visual language, to the multicolored skull motifs that carry decades of meaning for Deadheads around the world. The Air Max 90, expected to restock alongside the February 27 apparel drop via Nike.com at 10 AM ET, remains the crown jewel of the project — a shoe that bridges Nike's own Eugene origins with the band's most devoted fanbase in a way that feels genuinely earned. For Ducks fans, Dead fans, and sneaker collectors alike, the Grateful Ducks Collection isn't just merch — it's a love letter to one of American culture's most unexpected but enduring relationships.