Fresh out of jail on extortion charges, celebrity attorney Michael Avenatti on Tuesday accused Nike of paying two blue-chip basketball players to wear the Swoosh: Bol Bol, who now plays for the Nike-sponsored University of Oregon, and Deandre Ayton, who played for the Nike-backed University of Arizona before becoming the top pick in last year’s NBA draft.

Avenatti made the explosive allegations on his Twitter account Tuesday morning, a day after federal authorities arrested and accused Avenatti of trying to extort upwards of $20 million in hush-money from Nike. Avenatti did not provide any evidence to support his accusations against Nike.

Federal prosecutors declined to say Tuesday whether they’re looking into Avenatti’s allegations. Nike declined to directly address the allegations about paying players. Officials for the University of Oregon said they had no reason to believe the allegations about payments to Bol are true.

According to federal prosecutors, Avenatti approached Nike this month claiming that one of the company’s grassroots basketball coaches, Gary Franklin, had information about Nike-backed payments to players. Avenatti allegedly demanded $1.5 million for Franklin and more than $20 million for himself and another attorney to keep the information quiet.

Franklin ran the Nike-sponsored California Supreme Basketball, a program that includes Ayton and Bol as alumni. But information released Monday by federal prosecutors in Manhattan did not identify the players who allegedly received money from Nike.

Avenatti made his claims public on Tuesday, first by alleging payments to Ayton, who now plays for the Phoenix Suns.

Ask DeAndre Ayton and Nike about the cash payments to his mother and others. Nike’s attempt at diversion and cover-up will fail miserably once prosecutors realize they have been played by Nike and their lawyers at Boies. This reaches the highest levels of Nike. — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 26, 2019

Then Avenatti claimed that Nike paid Bol, who was a prized recruit for the Oregon Ducks this season. Oregon has advanced to this week’s Sweet 16 in the NCAA basketball tournament. But Bol, who is injured, has been watching from the sidelines.

Bol Bol and his handlers also received large sums from Nike. The receipts are clear as day. A lot of people at Nike will have to account for their criminal conduct, starting with Carlton DeBose & moving higher up. The diversion charade they orchestrated against me will be exposed — Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) March 26, 2019

An email to Avenatti, seeking proof to support the allegations against Nike, was not immediately returned. The phone number linked to Avenatti’s law firm in California was not working.

Nike on Tuesday declined to directly address Avenatti’s allegations.

Greg Rossiter, a company spokesman, reissued Nike’s statement from Monday after authorities arrested Avenatti.

“Nike will not be extorted or hide information that is relevant to a government investigation,” he said.

James Margolin, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of New York, declined to say whether prosecutors are looking into Avenatti’s allegations.

Dana Altman, Oregon’s basketball coach, responded to the allegations Tuesday morning by saying: “I have no reason to believe any of it’s accurate.”

A university spokeswoman echoed Altman later Tuesday.

“We are unaware of any evidence that would support these allegations,” Molly Blancett said in a statement. “Diligent inquiry last summer into the amateur status of our student-athletes revealed no indication of improper payments made to any student-athletes or their families.”

Federal prosecutors in Manhattan allege that Avenatti threatened to hold a press conference last week unless his demands were met by Nike. The timing, authorities say, was meant to inflict the most damage to Nike ahead of a quarterly earnings report and the beginning of the NCAA basketball tournament.

During one call with attorneys for Nike on March 20, Avenatti allegedly warned that he would “take $10 billion off your client’s market cap.”

“You guys know enough now to know you’ve got a serious problem,” Avenatti allegedly said. “And it’s worth more in exposure to me to just blow the lid on this thing. A few million dollars doesn’t move the needle for me. I’m just being really frank with you.”

Federal authorities allege that Avenatti was seeking a massive payday for himself. Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney in New York, said it was an “old-fashioned shake down.”

This post will be updated.

-- Brad Schmidt and Jeff Manning