NFL star Patrick Mahomes announced news of Texas Tech University’s impending jump from Baltimore-based Under Armour to rival Adidas on his pregame outfit Sunday.
A video the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback posted to Instagram shows him wearing a white T-shirt bearing his alma mater’s logo and the Adidas name, hand scrawled on what appears to be packing tape.
Under Armour confirmed Tuesday that its nearly two decade-long partnership with Texas Tech will end next year. The sports apparel and footwear maker signed a deal to outfit the university’s athletes in 2006. In 2020, the university extended the contract another four years, through next June.
“We are proud to have been partners with Texas Tech since 2006 and an official apparel outfitter since 2009,” an Under Armour spokesperson said in a email to The Baltimore Sun. “We wish the Red Raiders all the best after many successful years together.”
An Instagram post shows the reigning NFL MVP revealing the T-shirt before Sunday afternoon’s Chiefs game against the Los Angeles Chargers. Mahomes, an Adidas athlete and Texas alumnus, said only “Coming July 2024.”
Neither Adidas nor a Texas Tech spokesperson respond Tuesday morning to requests for comment on the upcoming deal.
News of Under Armour losing the collegiate partnership with Texas Tech came two months after the brand reportedly beat out Adidas and Nike on a deal with University of Notre Dame, one of the nation’s most popular college football programs. Under Armour said in August it extended a deal to design uniforms, footwear and apparel for Notre Dame’s 26 varsity teams for another 10 years.
At the time, Yahoo Sports reported that the deal is one of the biggest in college sports, with Under Armour committing to about $10 million a year in cash and products.
Under Armour had been pulling back on some of its endorsement and marketing deals after struggling through periods of declining sales and stock price and COVID-related store closures during the pandemic.
Most notably, the brand backed out of a record $280 million contract to outfit UCLA athletes, which led to a drawn out legal dispute and ended last year with the sports apparel maker agreeing to pay the university more than $67 million.
Under Armour currently has its biggest collegiate deals with the University of Maryland, the University of Utah, the University of Wisconsin and Auburn University. It also has partnerships as well with the University of South Carolina, Northwestern University and the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Under Armour spokesperson said Tuesday thatt the brand continues to “believe in the power of our many long-standing collegiate partnerships, which put Under Armour at the center of performance and lifestyle for young athletes.”
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