MARIETTA, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 4: Kai Cenat attends Jayda's 26h Birthday Celebration at Andretti Indoor Karting and Games Marietta on October 4, 2023 in Marietta, Georgia. (Photo by Prince Williams/WireImage)
In a deal that nobody saw coming, Kai Cenat has announced his partnership with Nike.
The popular Twitch streamer shared the news during a live stream on his channel on Friday (February 9).
“We are officially a part of the Nike family,” he said.
This announcement had been long-awaited, Kai added, and marks a significant milestone not just for him but the live-streaming community as a whole.
Kai is the first streamer to join the Nike family, therefore opening up a new avenue for collaborations between other content creators and major brands.
Nike nor Kai have explained the exact terms of their partnership as of yet. But the 22-year-old did promise he had “something big” planned with the company for an upcoming live stream in Las Vegas.
He’s also expected to participate in the upcoming NBA All-Star Celebrity Game on February 16. Kai will be playing on Team Shannon.
And now, with his partnership announced, it’s believed that he’ll be wearing Nike gear at the annual sports event.
According to Sneaker News, Nike’s partnership with Kai seemingly shows the brand’s effort to tap more into the Gen Z audience.
Who better to help them with that than Kai? The New Yorker has quite literally become an internet sensation for his relatable personality and celebrity live streams. He has already won the ‘Streamer of the Year’ title twice and is considered one of the most-watched streamers on Twitch.
Kai’s major announcement comes just days after he found himself feuding with Joe Budden, who didn’t appreciate the streamer’s comments about Killer Mike.
The rapper won Best Rap Album at the Grammys last week, beating the likes of Travis Scott and Drake.
But Kai disagreed with the Recording Academy’s choice as he shared his thoughts during a Twitch live stream.
“Who decided this motherfucker?” Kai said, per Complex. “Who the f***k decided this motherf***er? Her Loss? Utopia? Metro Boomin?”
Taking to ‘The Joe Budden Podcast,’ the former TV star argued that streamers who don’t know about Mike’s talent should learn to pipe down and do their homework.
“Shut your a** up. Y’all little streaming n****s don’t always run s**t,” he ranted. “Shut the f*** up. We don’t care about none of that little streaming, moshpit, marked car whatever you n****s is doing over there.”
In response to the comment, Kai had quite the clap back for Budden as he took to his Twitch platform, saying:
“Stop talking about streaming n***as like we some lil’ n-ggas, bro. I could buy you, my n***a. Do you understand that? I could pull up like 20 clips of you doubting every 2016 [XXL] Freshman, and look at them boys right now. You got one hit, Joe! ‘Pump it up!’ No offense to your career and s**t like that, but come on, bro!”
