Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Melvin Gordon, Amari Cooper Sign Deals with Nike

Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Melvin Gordon, Amari Cooper and Todd Gurley all joined the same team before the 2015 NFL draft.

Darren Rovell of ESPN.com reported Friday that all five signed with Nike. Mariota, Winston and Cooper are locks to be first-round picks, and either Gurley or Gordon could be the first running back taken in the first round in several years. Rovell's source did not disclose details of the contracts.

Winston is currently facing a civil lawsuit for sexual assault allegations, as reported by Matt Baker of the Tampa Bay Times, although he was never criminally charged.

Mark Wallheiser/Associated Press

Will Brinson of CBS Sports believes that Nike signed the eventual top pick in the upcoming draft in Winston, writing: “The 'everyone's bored two weeks before the draft so let's try and add some drama to a boring top pick' thing that's happening right now is an adorable annual tradition, but it's unlikely the Bucs are going to leave course at this stage of the game. Jameis is the guy, sink or swim.”

There is certainly a Heisman flair to this news. Winston won college football’s biggest award two seasons ago, Mariota won it last season and Gordon and Cooper finished as runners-up and finalists behind Mariota.

Signing players before the draft carries an element of risk because there is no guarantee that any of them will pan out, but Nike took a chance on some prominent names who will be given every opportunity to make an impact right away.

Skill-position players at quarterback, running back and wide receiver are often the faces of the franchises around the league, and Winston, Mariota, Gordon, Gurley and Cooper will all be under the spotlight this season. Even if only two of them live up to expectations and become stars, Nike will likely see these moves as successful on the whole.