The Biggest Sponsorship Deals In College Sports History

 

The Biggest Sponsorship Deals In College Sports History

 

When it comes to sponsorship in sport, you often think of the major leagues rather than colleges, but over the years many colleges up and down the USA have struck huge deals with sponsors, some bigger than those struck in the major leagues!

Sponsorship is an important aspect of any sport’s teams running and today you see everything from soft drink brands to casino sites supporting major league teams, with the latter set to be a real game changer as more and more states begin to legalise online gambling.

However, online casino sites or sportsbooks have yet to really infiltrate college sports, and they may not given the age of the athletes involved, but that doesn’t mean a number of mega-money deals aren’t going around.

Here are some of the biggest involved with college sports at present…

University of California at Los Angeles - Under Armour

UCLA is one of the most iconic and well known universities on the planet and when it comes to sport it has a rich history.

That’s why Under Armour were so keen to secure the deal to be the universities apparel supplier, with the University earning a breathtaking $280million over 15 years back in 2016. However, it didn’t quite go to plan with the brand trying to terminate the deal back in 2020 claiming that “marketing benefits” were not provided by UCLA for “an extended time period”.

UCLA settled for $67.5million to break the partnership.

University of Louisville - Adidas

The University of Louisville’s partnership with Adidas is still going strong having signed a 10-year deal to run from 2018 to 2028, and there’s been no such pulling out with the German sports brand offering a range of apparel and merchandise for University of Louisville fans.

The deal was worth around $160million across the period, making it one of the most lucrative in college sports.

University of Texas at Austin - Nike

The University of Texas at Austin has one of the best athletics setups around, with the Texas Longhorns revered across the country. Nike has been championing the team since 2017 when they struck a $9.76million per year deal, which will run through to 2031.

The brand is expanding heavily in Texas and the Austin area, and they’re continuing to see the benefit from the deal.

University of Kansas - Adidas

The Kansas Jayhawks have an incredibly successful partnership with Adidas, with the university not only enjoying their sports uniforms supplied by Adidas but a range of custom gear from sneakers to t-shirts, rucksacks and everything in between.

The deal has been running since 2017 and will do so until 2031 at present, worth a whopping $8.8million per year.

University of Michigan - Nike (Jordan)

One of the coolest deals struck of the last decade is the University of Michigan and Nike, and more specifically the Jordan brand.

It’s worth around $7.79million per year to the university and will run through to 2031, with the iconic Jumpman logo on their uniform. Jim Harbaugh, coach of the university’s football team originally thought it was a joke when he got the call from Michael Jordan himself, but it wasn’t and they now have some of the finest gear in the sport.