The topic of who pays for uniforms came up in the Black Uniforms on Black Friday thread, so I did a little investigating and found this article from the Washington Business Journal:
How Under Armour and Nike play ball with Maryland, Virginia and Virginia Tech
A few highlights:
Virginia Tech has a similar deal with Nike, with the company giving the school $1 million in equipment and apparel and $275,000 in cash. A good portion of that cash allowance is given directly to head football coach Frank Beamer. Since 2007 and until the end of 2015 Beamer gets $150,000 of Nikes yearly payment. If Beamer no longer coaches the team, Nike has the option of decreasing the cash payment by up to $75,000, with the remaining payments going straight to the university.
Another interesting wrinkle in Virginia Techs contract is the absence of performance bonuses for the football program. Maryland and Virginia have bonuses tied to conference championships and BCS bowl appearances, but neither school has accomplished those feats under the current contracts. Under Virginia Techs latest contract, the Hokies have won the ACC twice and played in four BCS bowl games.
Virginia Tech does have performance bonuses tied to the mens and womens basketball team, earning the school up to $25,000 for a mens Final Four appearance and $10,000 for a womens final four appearance.
and some additional perks for Nike
Virginia Tech (Nike):
- 4 season tickets to football games (between the 30-yard lines)
- 6 tickets to bowl games
- 8 season tickets to mens and womens basketball games
- 12 tickets to postseason games (conference and NCAA tournament games)
- 4 season tickets to other ticketed programs
Nike also gets an additional 22 tickets to one mutually agreed-upon womens basketball game and two sideline passes for each home football game upon request.
You can search for publicly available apparel contracts here: See what your university gets from Nike, Adidas or Under Armour (Database)
And a direct link to download Virginia Tech's contract with Nike
Comments
Great job digging this up
Under Virginia Techs latest contract, the Hokies have won the ACC twice and played in four BCS bowl games.
Can anyone explain this to me? I don't recall an at-large BCS bowl bid other than the sugar bowl in 2011, so how could we have played in four BCS games, but only won the ACC twice?
Probably a typo. The contract at the link starts July 2007, which would be 3 ACC championships ('07, '08, '10) and four BCS appearances.
These contracts don't seem similar at all. Clothing companies are always willing to give clothes to key influencers because they make it back in related sales. $1.4M in cash to the Terps? Seems like it is performance driven.... but .... Nike needs to start playing ball or they should hit the streets.
Is anyone awake in our AD department? Someone go take a pulse.
could it simply be timing? is our deal older? i imagine we will get paid by someone beginning in 2015...it won't be ND money, but i would think it will will be double or triple what we have now...
I'm pretty sure the head under armor guy is a Maryland graduate so he is probably just tossing them an extra bone. Or million...
ND just got 90 mil from under armour.
Yeah $5mil a season comparison to our deal
What's the irony that UMD isn't pulling that?
How Maryland gets more $$ than us is unheard of. What do they provide in the way of athletics? The only good team they have is men's soccer. Football is awful, basketball is not the best? Is this where Weaver played us like a fiddle and didn't negotiate properly and just took Nike's first offer? Also if you look at the article we give Nike the least amount of seats/tickets? I wonder if that is why we get screwed with uniforms. I mean heck we can't even get maroon pants but by golly we can have a turkey paw print on our helmet.
Granted Under-Armour gets to make a mockery out of Maryland's uniforms every year, its still cool and the players seem to love it.
"A unique stipulation to Virginias contract: Nike gives an undergraduate student a paid summer internship at Nikes world headquarters in Beaverton, Ore."... wtf I see Nike giving us the Middle Finger and more
UnderArmour was founded by a couple guys who graduated from Maryland, so I'm sure their contract is incredibly inflated because there is mutual interest from both sides to make Maryland the premier showcase entity of UnderArmour apparel. Plus, I'm sure it doesn't pain the guys at UA to give a little extra to the university they got their degrees for and openly root for on gamedays.
Yeah I see that.. just crazy, I hope when our Nike contract runs out we look elsewhere. Think of all the hype we could have had with ALL Maroon at least 1 a year. Instead we got du du Grey for Alabama.. LOL Nike couldn't come up with a sick White uniform I mean heck I would have taken all white with a maroon strip down the side and been happy.
IIRC, Nike made us a HUGE offer to consolidate the entire Athletic Dept under Nike. We were all over the place before this current contract. BBall was Adidas, Football was Nike, i think some sports were Russell, etc. I rem reading that JW got a lot out of Nike in order to commit the entire school to them. as i said up above, i wonder if timing explains the discrepancy. If our deal is the oldest, it would naturally be the smallest. 2014-15 is the last year of the Nike deal i believe, so i wouldn't be surprised to see us sign a new deal with Nike (or someone else) this summer when we're inside the 12 month window.
I think Under Armour-owner/head guy or whatever is a Maryland Grad. So he is subsidizing the Athletic Dept ala NIKE/OREGON but not exactly the same. Also, think he might have been big influence ($$$) in move to Big 10.
I believe he was a linebacker on their team.
VT has a crap deal with Nike. Nike by not trying to redo the deal just shows us how much they value our business. We don't sell as much merchandise as ND, but we're probably closer to ND than Maryland.
All this speculation about UA and Maryland is nonsense. UA is not going to bend over to Maryland and screw up their core business because the founder went there. What do you people smoke thinking that kinda stuff? NSA probably couldn't find a link between B10 and Maryland move. UA wants to stay far away from favoring conferences and teams. This Md move is highly controversial and were it to work without an exit fee, would change the ACC and college football dramatically in a couple days.
The founder said that's why he did it somewhere. I can't find it right now, but I definitely remember it in an interview. It's not really a surprise either, I mean, they're swinging for the fences. They're sending a message. "We can be like Nike."
That being said, I wouldn't be opposed to us moving our contract to UA. They do some interesting and creative things.
I would. Personally I prefer UA, but when it comes to recruiting, Nike carries much more weight. I recall reading Malcom Delany say he refused to even consider non-Nike schools when being recruited.
Sigh...
That's so frustrating. Nike controls so much just through hype.
It really is frustrating considering that while they have great football stuff, after watching other teams come through Cassell, I'd say Adidas has better stuff for basketball. Nike just has the name that sticks with kids.
For sure. The adidas b-ball team team is on point right now. Also, as long as we're on shoe companies that are on point right now: Saucony. I have bought all the endorphins in the last two cycles. Best spikes for long distance easy. But again. Nike holds all of the attention in the space.
Love the generous performance bonuses for basketball. We're basically getting Nike's change in the couch for making the Final Four. Which, as I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone, WE'VE NEVER DONE. $25K for that? Pffft.
Nice job researching this nugget. Frank's bonus is especially interesting.
Its like Frank negotiated the damn thing. Seriously? WTF? Who was running the AD?
Here is a good breakdown of where our deal stood competitively when it was signed in 2006. we have to be careful comparing our 2006 contract to deals signed in 2010 and beyond. ND just signed their UA deal in 2014. we'll get our new deal in July 2015, which won't be ND money (nor should it be), but it will likely be on par with anyone we consider a (brand) peer.
Or 8 year old deal is worth just over $1.2M/year
By comparison
Ohio State has a departmentwide deal with Nike with a total value of $11.9 million from 2001-07, including $9.2 million in free products.
Under its departmentwide deal with Nike, Florida this year will be paid $1.3 million and get $625,000 in free products.
Under its departmentwide deal with Nike, Kentucky will be paid $1.6 million annually and will get $1 million annually in free products.
Under Georgia's departmentwide deal with Nike, the total value is $1.3 million per year.
Tennessee has a five-year, departmentwide deal with Adidas with a total value of $19.3 million.
There are no special nonathletic stipulations to the Tech contract, unlike in some schools' contracts.
Deals with Florida State and Ohio State, for example, require Nike to give internships to those schools' students. The FSU deal requires Nike to make a $1 million donation to help build a Human Performance Center building. The UNC deal requires independent monitoring of the labor standards at all manufacturing plants making Nike's UNC merchandise.
http://ww2.roanoke.com/sports/vtfootball/wb/95089/
unc guy: "we just wanna make sure our stuff isnt being made by 10 year old kids working 15 hour shifts for 16 cents a day with no bathroom breaks."
nike guy: (eyes shifting back and forth like a villain in a cartoon) "yeah, we'll get right on that"
Becaust at the University of North Carolina there's one thing that we value above all else - Ethics.
OK, you made use google!
Yes a company would be foolish to use its only possible foothold into an industry/market completely dominated by Nike. I don't know looking at the history of UA if it weren't for its relationship with Maryland it probably would not exist today. Hardly foolish, not sure what is in your pipe! This article from cnsmaryland provides good history on rise of UA.
Here is link: http://cnsmaryland.org/2012/04/11/maryland-under-armour-relationship-ben...
"From there, Plank and Under Armour took off. And it quickly became obvious that a relationship between Plank and his alma mater would help both. Plank featured Rasheed Simmons, a former college teammate, in one of the companys first big advertisements and later cast then-Maryland defensive line coach Dave Sollazzo in the companys We Must Protect This House TV campaign.
In 2004, the Terps became the first collegiate football team in the country to wear Under Armour jerseys after the athletics department finalized a five-year, $2.6 million deal with Plank. Four years later, the company became the exclusive outfitter for all of the schools 27 varsity sports as part of a five-year pact in which Under Armour pays the school $17.5 million.
oh, and Kevin Plank is on Maryland Board of Trustees, and from WAPO
"Under Armour has reported revenue growth of at least 20 percent in each of the past 14 quarters. The companys full-year net revenue in 2013 is expected to top $2.25 billion."
If you've been to Bryd Stadium lately it is a giant UA Advertisement, so I think UA made a wise investment to open the doors to a market/industry dominated by NIKE. Someday the Terps will be playing football at Under Amour Stadium. Looks like they will be at Olympics as well with a new speed skating body suit.
Good points. Especially a good point that this is how UA got started and that yes their founder is active at Maryland.
I would still say that because of public company considerations, it is more likely that he uses his personal net worth to benefit his alma mater and first client, while UA gives Maryland a market based deal like any other school /UA client. Running a public company like a personal fiefdom or as an extension of your personal bank or field of dreams can get you into serious trouble. Rich people don't want serious trouble. Its not so much the letter of the law as the culture that it brings that gets you into trouble.
With that said there is a bit of a nuance to what I perceive to be the business strategy of UA which is to increase the pressure on their competitors at the margin and getting a high visibility presence in major sporting goods markets. This means they try to get a toehold in large sports related clothing markets and then innovate as best they can to show what they can do. English football club Tottenham Hotspur, ACC (used to be MD), SEC (Auburn), golfers (don't think they are throwing wild money around there, yet), etc., etc. They traditionally have not been large enough to compete with Nike marketshare and reputation so at the end of the day they have to pay up to play in a Nike dominated marketspace.
So what that means is that anyone getting a UA deal gets a better deal than someone getting a Nike deal. Nike cannot or chooses not to afford to give all their customers UA money. Conversely if UA had all of Nike's clients they couldn't or wouldn't afford that either. This may change over time as/if UA gets closer to Nike financial size. With that said, UA really wants all their clients to succeed and do really well and be shown wearing UA gear as much as possible. So....UA in some sense may show their clients a little more love than a traditional clothing company, who has multiple dogs in each conference race. When UA puts money into you through a deal they want you to succeed and that probably makes it seem like favoritism, when really its just the financial reality of their business strategy.
Now that Md is leaving the ACC, hopefully UA is on the hunt for an ACC client. I don't know who UA has in the ACC and/or when their deals renew, but I would imagine the prime target is FSU, then Clemson, then VT, but who knows a school like Syracuse might be a darkhorse... probably depends on their geographic client representation among other things... we might overlap MD too much. Would love to see us get bumped up by Nike wanting to renew us and/or UA wanting to get a deal done with us. Our geographic footprint is pretty large IMHO. Lots of ad $, merchandise sales by getting VT under contract IMHO. Not sure our alumni base is ready for the designs of UA, but if the kids like it....
Would love to see where Plank said he was responsible for the MD move to the B10. Know a few folks from UA and they insist UA/Plank had nothing to do with it. They want whats best for Maryland, but they're not picking and choosing conferences or football conference configurations. Maryland got itself in a huge hole financially had to cancel some sports, then seems to have gotten some legal advice that has yet to bear fruit regarding the exit fee. Economically the B10 is the most attractive option out there and MD desperately needs to find new funds. While I have no inside info, I do believe that Plank probably told UM he would personally (not from corporate funds) pay the $50M exit fee if that is what it took to get Maryland into a conference that wanted them and was capable of signing a reasonable TV deal. Not to say Plank hates the ACC, just that he sees the B10 as offering more to his alma mater. From what I understand the f***nuts in Tobacco Road are a decade away from an ACC network (with revenue sports), so the ACC will not be able to provide relief to Md's funding issue, and unless we start funding with alumni $, we will continue to lose coaches that want to be paid a market based salary.
Should this trial over the exit fee happen, I would guess that lots of information will be requested from both sides. My guess is the conference folks will really want to not have their information divulged in press leaks etc. Should UA/Plank have been a big driver of the MD to the B10, it might have to be divulged in the information as well. Some of that information could be very damaging. I just don't see it. A businessman would have been very clear about wanting what is best for his alma mater but his love for all conferences, all football teams in general. The ACC is either on firm legal ground, smoking something looking for the extra $30M, or thinks that there is something that will fall out of depositions / disclosure. Should be interesting 4 sure and I personally would love to see what comes out (might not be a jury trial, but likely there would be press leaks etc) at trial. Given the basketcase that is UNC, I think the Tobacco Road(most likely as the $50M and subsequent Media Rights riders seem wholely made up to me) or Maryland Admin (guy seems like someone who takes legal advice but who knows) will settle because of damaging leaks before any UA damaging information comes out, but who knows maybe noone in the case paid any heed to what their lawyers told them to do.
Don't really get the UA hatred on this board. Maybe it comes out that he was more forceful driver of Maryland leaving the ACC, but I doubt it. Either way I really wish VT hadn't signed on with the ACC. Its like having a spouse who gives you things you want and need versus a spouse who says you'll never leave and I'll make it impossible for you to leave. Yes both situations can be good situations, but it is far more likely that a spouse that is responsive to needs will provide a more bountiful relationship. VT would have been happier in the SEC or B10 than the ACC.
Hate on Plank and UA all you want. I wish the guy had been a VT alum.
I realize virtually all textile production has moved out of the USA, but is there an up-and-coming Virginia-based athletic apparel company with Hokie CEOs that we could connect with and kick off their rise like the UA-MD scenario...just sayin', lol. Maybe that would have saved Dan River Mills years ago!
Didn't want to start a whole new thread for this but the VT football twitter accounts and football coaches just did a weird twitter Ad thing for Nike and I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Torrian Gray just retweeted UF's Nike gear in a similar fashion. If you put the cleats together and look inside, the insoles make the Gator logo. (kind of like putting the gloved hands together to make a complete VT.)
they're showing recruits all the free swag they get if they come to a Nike school like VT. i'm pretty sure 99% of any coach's tweets all boil down to recruiting tactics.
These were an AD plain and simply. Read the tweet line from main account through every coach ending with Fuente.
Cool idea, kids love free Nike stuff, far more than any other brand.
While cheesy, it was very well executed, so they get credit for that. Plus the gear is awesome. Wish I could get my hands on some.