Can you describe how UM "needed money"? We joined the ACC, which gave us more money than we ever had, plus we came out ahead financially by moving from the Orange Bowl to Joe Robbie.
@Rellyrell has already explained how the adidas offer was just a bit more than Nike's, and with the Nike incentives, we COULD HAVE made more (we probably would not have, given how we have played since 2015). And Blake was busy slashing expenditures since he was hired. So where was the "money need"?
As for "take less money", where are you getting that from? I PERSONALLY said we should pay Nike to take us back. I PERSONALLY said we should offer Mario $10 million per year (and I said that months ago). If someone can't figure out that I'm being partially sarcastic to make a point, then I don't know how to help you. The problem with signing TWELVE YEAR DEALS for apparel or TWENTY YEAR DEALS for TV is that the market changes. The world changes. The only reason we got ANY more money from adidas is because we had to re-remember that we had a most favored nation clause. And unless we foresee adidas going out and signing some better schools (they won't), then we are locked into a set price for the next 5 years.
Look, I know how these things happen. When I interviewed at NASCAR in December of 2007, they had been a Pepsi company for 40 years. When I started working in January 2008, everything had changed to Coke. The family had a fatwa against Coke because the local bottler had snubbed them 40 years prior. And the only reason the Coke deal happened was because the family member that hated Coke the most...died.
Nobody knows what Nike is willing to pay, so let's stop negotiating against ourselves. Whether it takes 1 year or 5 years, I'm willing to bet that it will happen. And I hate betting.