Has Snowboarder Zeb Powell Secretly Joined Michael Jordan's Brand?

Neither Powell nor Nike, the parent company of Jordan, responded to requests for comment by the time of publication of this article, but the signs are there.

During the X Games Aspen 2025 Knuckle Huck competition, and the practice leading up to it, Powell donned a grey and black sweatshirt that featured an in-game photo of Michael Jordan in his Bulls uniform.

Then, in ThirtyTwo's 30 Years Anniversary video, Powell is wearing a different black and white Air Jordan shirt. Of course, the stickers are the biggest teaser of them all. Tap or click play to watch the video below.

The potential partnership makes sense, at least from an outsider’s perspective. Michael Jordan is from North Carolina, just like Powell. He’s also become heavily invested in nontraditional sports since his retirement, like being the owner of a NASCAR franchise, and getting heavily involved with professional golf. 

As of January 27, 2025, only basketball players were listed on the Jordan website as brand athletes – Jayson Tatum, Russell Westbrook, and the WNBA’s Satou Sabally among them – but it wouldn’t be the first time that an athlete from another sport joins the team. Golfer Keegan Bradley, baseball players Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Derek Jeter, and BMX rider Nigel Sylvester have all been members of the Jordan Brand family at some point.

Powell has also featured a Jordan Jumpman style logo on his ThirtyTwo branded boots and outerwear for the last few years. The first iterations of the boot were in Carolina blue, no doubt an homage to the University of North Carolina (UNC) Tar Heels of Powell’s home state.

UNC also happens to be the college that Michael Jordan attended, and won a National Championship at in 1982.

It wouldn’t exactly be Jordan’s first foray into snowboarding, either. When Nike made snowboard boots, the Vapen line borrowed some key aesthetic elements from the timeless Air Jordan 1, a shoe that was later used by even Tony Hawk on a skateboard, and is still rocked by athletes and hype-beats alike across the globe.

It would, however, be a remarkable move for both sides. Mainstream brands like Nike, Adidas, and even New Balance, have dipped their toes (pun intended) into making snowboard boots and outerwear, only to retreat. It’s a difficult market to break into, and only Salomon, Vans, and DC have been able to remain in the snowboard boot game while also having sneakers on the racks at shopping malls. The seasonal nature of snowboarding seems to scare mainstream brands away.

Now, all of this is pure speculation. There has been no official news released about any partnership, and the internet is pretty hush-hush about it all.

Riders of Powell's caliber and marketability do not throw random stickers on their snowboard, especially before one of the most watched competitions of the entire year.