OT Under Armour's UCLA deal and their Perception

[RU2007RSLN2010]

Yesterday UCLA locked in a $280 million deal with Under Armour. This is the largest shoe and apparel sponsorship deal in college sports history. Of the five largest college apparel sponsorship deals, Under Armour now has two of them (UCLA and Notre Dame) while Nike has deals with Ohio State, University of Texas and University of Michigan.

I am a child of the 90's and grew up accustomed to seeing Nike dominating sponsorship deals either with college schools, professional teams and professional athletes. Recently though Under Armour is making serious inroads to deals that would traditionally go Nike's way. Some of the top athletes across multiple sports are now sponsored by Under Armour - Stephen Curry, Tom Brady, Cam Newton, Jordan Spieth, Harper, Kershaw, Phelps, etc.

I'm curious to hear your opinions of Under Armour vs Nike and whether UA's sponsorships are growing their brand. Today do kids prefer one over the other? I lean more towards Nike (could just be my perception from always seeing them as the number 1 brand in this area) but do the younger kids who don't remember a time before Under Armour have this view as well?

Anyways I think it's good for sports having multiple sponsors to compete against one another to increase revenues. I hope UA's affiliation with Maryland helps to grow the BIG further.

 

[e5fdny]

Always nice to get into a bidding war where you are on the receiving end...$$$$$$$$$$

 

[miketd1]

Meh.

Outside of the odd UA winter gear & workout stuff and Adidas soccer gear, their selection kinda sucks compared to their Nike equivalents.

 

[RUfinal4]

For the basic fan stuff most of the apparel is similar and probably made from the same raw materials in factories overseas down the street from each other.

For the team gear it should all be equivalent whether it is Nike, UA, Reebok, Adidas, etc... A baseball or football jersey is the same quality for the players.

For fans, a performance t shirt with the school's name is no different in quality from any manufacturer.

Now, if I am buying equipment for a local soccer, football, baseball, other sports team then I will go to the best manufacturer. Addidas and Fila have good soccer shorts while Nike has done well for baseball and football. I think Riddell was good in football in years past. For hockey jerseys it seems Reebok is in with the NHL while CCM is a name from years past.

if you are just going to the gym or doing yeard work in the summer any of the brands will work whether it is Russell, Nike, Adidas, Reebok, UA, or others. UA used to be known for the tight form fitting shirts but have gone main stream now.

 

[daneman100]

Seeing how our contract is up next year, I see this as a very good thing.

 

[RU2007RSLN2010]

Does anyone here prefer one brand over the other when our contract is up assuming the $$$ is equal?