WESTWOOD─Under Armour announced on June 27 that it will terminate the record $280 million apparel deal with UCLA, one of the members of the Pac-12 athletics conference since UCLA could not provide financial benefit as required by the contract.
UCLA signed a 15-year, $280 million contract with Under Armour in 2016, replacing the apparel deal with Adidas that expired in the summer of 2017. The partnership with Under Armour is the largest apparel deal in college sports history. Under Armour has apparel deals with other schools including Notre Dame, Wisconsin, Auburn, Texas Tech, and Utah.
“We are exploring all of our options to resist Under Armour’s actions and will share more information as we can,” said former UCLA Athletic Director Dan Guerrero in a statement. It is reported that the company has worked with current UCLA Athletic Director Martin Jarmond and sponsored Boston College’s athletic team when Jarmond was an Athletic Director at the school.
“We have been paying for marketing benefits that we have not received for an extended time period. The agreement allows us to terminate in such an event and we are exercising that right,” said Under Armour in a statement.
Under Armour also added:
“We know that this has been a challenging time for athletes, sports programs and performance apparel brands alike. Under Armour will continue to preserve our strength in this challenging environment, while maintaining a strong network of partnerships with individuals, organizations and leagues that make us the on-field authority for focused performers.”
UCLA has not yet announced what would be the next step in response to Under Armour’s decision.
