💰 From $1.8B to Nothing: How Kanye West Made Adidas a Streetwear Empire — and Burned It to the Ground in 24 Hours 😱🔥

When Adidas signed Kanye West in 2013, they weren’t just signing an artist.

They were betting the house on a wild card, a visionary with a mouth full of fire and a mind that never slowed down.

Nike had refused to give him ownership.

Adidas gave him the throne.

Insiders confirm that Kanye’s royalty rate on Yeezy products was three times higher than what Michael Jordan received from Nike.

Adidas even built a standalone Yeezy business unit — complete with its own design team, supply chain, and production facilities.

It was a $1.8 billion bet on chaos.

And for nearly a decade, it was the smartest move they’d ever made.

The Yeezy brand wasn’t just selling shoes — it was shaping culture.

From the 350s and 700s to foam runners and slides, Kanye took silhouettes the sneaker world laughed at and turned them into coveted collector pieces.

Resale sites crashed.

Drop calendars broke the internet.

Adidas’ stock soared.

Investors were thrilled.

Executives called him “a creative savior.

But every deal with the devil comes with a fine print.

Because while Adidas was counting sales, Kanye was counting down.

By late 2021, cracks were forming.

Ye began making strange public appearances — rambling interviews, erratic tweets, unhinged rants.

In the early days, fans brushed it off as “just Ye being Ye.

” But what came next would shift the narrative forever.

In 2022, Kanye’s public behavior spiraled.

He appeared in controversial interviews wearing “White Lives Matter” shirts.

He made blatantly antisemitic remarks.

He doubled down when confronted — tweeting he would go “death con 3 on Jewish people.

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He refused to apologize.

Refused to back down.

Refused to blink.

The backlash was instant.

And it was nuclear.

Balenciaga dropped him.

GAP canceled the Yeezy Gap deal.

JPMorgan Chase literally closed his bank accounts.

CAA, his talent agency, cut ties.

And all eyes turned to Adidas.

The pressure was relentless — not just from the public and media, but from inside the company itself.

Adidas employees reportedly staged internal protests.

Some threatened to walk.

Still, Adidas hesitated.

Ye had made them too much money.

His products represented 7-10% of their total annual revenue.

They had $1.3 billion in unsold Yeezy inventory sitting in warehouses across the world.

Cutting him off would be like amputating their own arm.

But the storm wasn’t stopping.

And on October 25, 2022, Adidas finally snapped the cord.

“Adidas does not tolerate antisemitism and any other sort of hate speech,” the company wrote.

“Ye’s recent comments and actions have been unacceptable, hateful, and dangerous.

The breakup was immediate.

And the fallout? Catastrophic.

Adidas shares plunged 13% in a single day, wiping out billions in market value.

They were left with $1.3 billion in unsold Yeezy inventory.

Suddenly, their most profitable line became a ticking time bomb.

Executives scrambled to figure out what to do with the leftover stock — burn it? Rebrand it? Donate it? Every option felt like bleeding money.

And while they debated, Ye moved on.

Untouched.Unbothered.

He announced new music.

Talked about building his own factories.

Even flirted with launching a new line without corporate backing.

Whether or not he ever delivers… doesn’t matter.

Because the damage was already done.

He’d built a fashion empire from the ground up.

And then, with one breath, set it on fire.

To this day, Adidas is still trying to recover.

They’ve attempted to relaunch old Yeezy stock — but the brand is tainted.

The cultural cachet is gone.

Yeezy used to be the future.

Now it’s a haunted memory.

And the lesson?

No amount of money can control Kanye West.

Nike knew it.

That’s why they walked.

Adidas knew it.

But they stayed — until it was too late.

Because when you tie your brand to a man who thrives on chaos, you don’t get to control the narrative.

You ride it.

And sooner or later… the ride ends.

In a rare moment of reflection, one Adidas executive was quoted saying off the record:

“We made him royalty.

He made us money.

Then he made us pay.

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