Reports: Under Armour and UCLA officially agree to largest apparel deal
UCLA and Under Armour have the standard-setting shoe and apparel contract. For now, anyway.
Per multiple outlets, including ESPN and the Los Angeles Times, the Bruins and Under Armour will announce Tuesday the two parties had agreed to a 15-year $280 million contract for Under Armour to be the school’s athletics apparel supplier. Under Armour replaces Adidas at UCLA and the deal is richer than the 15-year deals Nike recently signed with Texas, Michigan and Ohio State.
“We knew that we were well-positioned to cut a deal,” UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero said. “Under Armour came at us hard.”
The deal between the two parties was expected for some time and the Los Angeles-appeal of UCLA for Under Armour is clearly a driving factor as UA CEO Kevin Plank said to the Times that “It was important for us to plant our flag in L.A.”
UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen posted his thoughts about the deal to Instagram with a screenshot of the Times’ graph showing UCLA at the top of the college football heap.
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The company recently signed a deal with Cal for the 2017 season, but the deal with the Bears is worth an average $8.6 million per season. The UCLA deal averages out to nearly $19 million a year in total compensation, though the deal reportedly inclues $15 million up front.
Ohio State previously had the nation’s richest apparel deal. The agreement between the Buckeyes and Nike is worth $252 million over 15 seasons.
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Nick Bromberg is the assistant editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
