Long Term Debt - Net of Unamortized Premiums and Discounts and Swap Fair Value Adjustments (Detail)			12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended						12 Months Ended
	May 31, 2013 USD ($)	May 31, 2012 USD ($)	May 31, 2013 5.66% Corporate bond, payable July 23, 2012 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 5.66% Corporate bond, payable July 23, 2012 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 5.40% Corporate bond, payable August 7, 2012 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 5.40% Corporate bond, payable August 7, 2012 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 4.70% Corporate bond, payable October 1, 2013 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 4.70% Corporate bond, payable October 1, 2013 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 5.15% Corporate bond, payable October 15, 2015 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 5.15% Corporate bond, payable October 15, 2015 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 2.25% Corporate bond, payable May 1, 2023 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 2.25% Corporate bond, payable May 1, 2023 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 3.63 % Corporate bond, payable May 1, 2043 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 3.63 % Corporate bond, payable May 1, 2043 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 6.20% Promissory note, payable April 1, 2017 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 6.20% Promissory note, payable April 1, 2017 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 6.79% Promissory note, payable January 1, 2018 USD ($)		May 31, 2012 6.79% Promissory note, payable January 1, 2018 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 2.60% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 2.60% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 JPY (¥)		May 31, 2012 2.60% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 2.00% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 USD ($)		May 31, 2013 2.00% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 JPY (¥)		May 31, 2012 2.00% Japanese Yen note, maturing August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020 USD ($)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long Term Debt, original principal			$ 25,000,000	[1],[2]			$ 15,000,000	[1],[2]			$ 50,000,000	[1]			$ 100,000,000	[1],[2]			$ 500,000,000	[1],[3]			$ 500,000,000	[1],[3]			$ 40,000,000	[4]			$ 19,000,000	[4]					¥ 9,000,000,000	[5]					¥ 4,000,000,000	[5]
Long-term debt, interest rate			5.66%	[1],[2]			5.40%	[1],[2]			4.70%	[1]			5.15%	[1],[2]			2.25%	[1],[3]			3.63%	[1],[3]			6.20%	[4]			6.79%	[4]			2.60%	[5]	2.60%	[5]			2.00%	[5]	2.00%	[5]
Long-term debt, interest payment			Semi-Annually	[1],[2]			Semi-Annually	[1],[2]			Semi-Annually	[1]			Semi-Annually	[1],[2]			Semi-Annually	[1],[3]			Semi-Annually	[1],[3]			Monthly	[4]			Monthly	[4]			Quarterly	[5]	Quarterly	[5]			Quarterly	[5]	Quarterly	[5]
Long Term Debt	1,267,000,000	277,000,000	0	[1],[2]	25,000,000	[1],[2]	0	[1],[2]	15,000,000	[1],[2]	50,000,000	[1]	50,000,000	[1]	111,000,000	[1],[2]	115,000,000	[1],[2]	499,000,000	[1],[3]	0	[1],[3]	499,000,000	[1],[3]	0	[1],[3]	40,000,000	[4]	0	[4]	19,000,000	[4]	0	[4]	34,000,000	[5]			50,000,000	[5]	15,000,000	[5]			22,000,000	[5]
Less current maturities	57,000,000	49,000,000
TOTAL LONG-TERM DEBT	$ 1,210,000,000	$ 228,000,000

[1] Senior unsecured obligations rank equally with our other unsecured and unsubordinated indebtedness.

[2] The Company has entered into interest rate swap agreements whereby the Company receives fixed interest payments at the same rate as the note and pays variable interest payments based on the six-month LIBOR plus a spread. The swaps have the same notional amount and maturity date as the corresponding note. At May 31, 2013, the interest rates payable on these swap agreements ranged from approximately 0.3% to 0.4%.

[3] The bonds carry a make whole call provision and are redeemable at any time prior to maturity. The bonds also feature a par call provision payable 3 months and 6 months prior to the scheduled maturity date for the bonds maturing on May 1, 2023 and May 1, 2043, respectively.

[4] The Company assumed a total of $59 million in bonds payable on May 30, 2013 as part of its agreement to purchase certain Corporate properties, which was treated as a non-cash financing transaction. The property serves as collateral for the debt. The purchase of these properties was accounted for as a business combination where the total consideration of $85 million was allocated to the land and buildings acquired; no other tangible or intangible assets or liabilities resulted from the purchase. The bonds mature in 2017 and 2018 and the Company does not have the ability to re-negotiate the terms of the debt agreements and would incur significant financial penalties if the notes are paid off prior to maturity.

[5] NIKE Logistics YK assumed a total of ¥13.0 billion in loans as part of its agreement to purchase a distribution center in Japan, which serves as collateral for the loans. These loans mature in equal quarterly installments during the period August 20, 2001 through November 20, 2020.