Nike Reportedly to Create a National 7-on-7 High School Football League

Nike is reportedly in the process of launching a seven-on-seven high school football league in San Francisco, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia and Kansas City, according to Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com.

Players would need to contribute $1,000 to participate, per Dodd, and groups of 25 players would practice and participate in two tournaments during the postseason.

Nike's event may eventually be expanded to include junior high, junior varsity and varsity teams in the future, according to Dodd.

And it would join the pool of corporate-sponsored camps and seven-on-seven tournaments already prevalent in the high school ranks. The NCAA has its own concerns about the growing popularity of these seven-on-seven events, however, as it released in a statement (via Dodd):

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The NCAA membership continues to voice concern about outside influences in the recruiting process. We communicate regularly with industry leaders about those issues and concerns. The enforcement staff continues to focus on trends in the recruiting world, including the 7-on-7 environment, to ensure the recruiting process is fair for prospects and the membership.

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The NCAA banned seven-on-seven competitions on college campuses four years ago.

In essence, the old "Shoe Wars" that surrounded companies like Nike racing to sign young basketball players to shoe deals has now spread to high school football.

“All these things that were verboten, the first [basketball all-star] camps has now evolved into everybody doing everything involving the high school kids,” said former shoe executive Sonny Vaccaro, per Dodd. “This covers everything. All the shoe companies now have shoe wars [regarding] seven-on-seven.”

The concern for many is the implication these "shoe wars" may have on recruiting, especially when companies like Nike have apparel deals at countless colleges. In essence, one of the worries is that recruits who have gone to these seven-on-seven tournaments and gotten a taste for Nike's merchandise may be influenced—or perhaps even pressured—toward a college with a Nike apparel deal. 

The flip side to the debate is that companies are simply looking for branding opportunities and are aligning their products to the sports so many kids grow up playing and loving.

“It's branding,” Joshua Borne, the vice president for business development at Pylon, told Dodd. “They're looking to associate their brand with good events that are lifelong memories. Football has been a difficult sport to brand athletes because it's so associated with the helmet ... I think seven-on-seven can help players develop their brand.”