Michigan Signs With Nike Comment Count

Brian

This has been a fait accompli for a few weeks now; it is now official:

Also press release.

Creepy divorce metaphor aside, this is likely to please everyone. We have a Best Of Adidas post being assembled and it's a doozy. Around here we started calling them the Only Incompetent Germans after Glenn Robinson's jersey exploded in a cloud of fibers for the third or fourth time.

Nike's not perfect—in fact the only Nike tag we have on the blog is "nike would like you to wear this aerodynamic fez"—but the athletes really wanted Nike according to internal surveys. A lot of the fans really wanted Nike according to Sam Webb, who would know. Even those who were pretty indifferent to the brand of clothing they're wearing scoffed at the many and diverse fashion crimes perpetrated on the best uniforms in sports. And so the department acquiesced even though there were reports that the Adidas offer was worth significantly more.

Yes: the athletic department made a decision based on something other than making revenue go up. Even if you don't really care what symbol is on Michigan's jerseys, that has to feel good.

No numbers yet. Those will be announced next week. Current details:

  • Contract runs to 2027 with a Michigan option to extend to 2031.
  • Contract starts August 1st of next year.
  • Michigan can use "Jumpman" apparel for their basketball teams—apparently this is a big deal.
  • The Daily's Zach Shaw reports that employees were told that Michigan will be Nike's "top deal." I think they say that to all the girls.

I don't think uniformz are off the table unless the AD says they're off the table; that will be the next thing to watch for.

Comments

TreyBurkeHeroMode

July 6th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^

Michigan can't continually turn it's backs on revenue with apparel, stadium advertising, etc and compete with those maximizing the revenue.

OK, I'll bite. Why?

This is college athletics. We are not putting sports in to receive money back out as in the NFL or NBA. Rather, we're putting money in to get sports and the community that grows around sports back out. As long as we're making enough money to fund the sports programs and hopefully contribute to the University's general fund, then who cares whether or not some other school is getting $1M or $10M more a year from adidas than Michigan is getting from Nike?

We're building palaces for Olympic sports, so at some point the athletic department is going to run out of places to spend the money. Make the fans happy with good-looking gear, make the players and coaches happy with a brand they love and leave good enough alone. Chasing the almighty incremental intercollegiate athletic dollar is what turned Dave Brandon into a anthropomorphic giraffe puppeteer who has to figure out how to compete with Amazon and Walmart.

ThadMattasagoblin

July 6th, 2015 at 5:32 PM ^

because the more money you have, the more you can spend on things that help you win. Take Michigan vs. Northwestern for example. We have better facilities than them which helps us recruit better players. We have better coaches like harbaugh or Beilein because we can pay for them which then helps us win through attracting better recruits and in-game strategizing. We have assistant coach salaries and support staff salaries that dwarf theirs and it gives us access to hiring guys from the NFL. Finally, we get to travel to camps across the country and get closer to recruits while Northwestern could never do 10 camps across the country like that.

wile_e8

July 6th, 2015 at 5:48 PM ^

This is true to a certain degree, but once you're revenues are high enough it doesn't hurt to leave a little bit of money on the table to make players and/or fans happy. In fact it may pay off even more in the long run through better recruits who win more games or happier fans who won't stop buying tickets if the team has a down period. I think the Brandon era would show the perils of making every decision based on next quarter's spreadsheets.

wile_e8

July 6th, 2015 at 11:05 PM ^

I'm not implying that - I've said in other places I don't think apparel matters anywhere near as much as the Nikebots on the board make it out. But the sort of thinking that has multiple posters here fretting about leaving money on the table *has* affected fan attendance in other ways. So while this one deal won't make much of a change in attendance, it's a hopeful signal that maybe the new leadership in the athletic department will consider something other than next quarter's revenue when making decisions, whether it affects the players or the fans.

Esterhaus

July 6th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^

 
It's what I want to see, public university. Irrespective I trust Jim Hackett. The University must control what it's players wear and the brand. My preferred is Maize n Blue, nineties-style basic patterns. Let the results do the announcing not the uniforms. Otherwise we are pretenders, and you can kiss the donations goodbye. With Nike being an easy culprit to blame, sconce and destroy Nike's revenue through our individual, business and collective actions. Get things correct on Michigan terms, Nike. Or else you won't.

maineandblue

July 6th, 2015 at 4:27 PM ^

I just hope the uniformz are indeed off the table. I think DB ok'd everything that would bring in extra revenue and was tone deaf to what fans actually cared about, and Hoke may not have cared much, but also would not have had the nerve to say anything if he did have an opinion. 

Hackett has shown an appreciation for tradition as well as the ability to make decisions for reasons other than pure profit (as he showed here), and I imagine Harbaugh making the "crab legs?" face looking at a clowniform idea. 

 

Marcus818

July 6th, 2015 at 4:37 PM ^

I think the Jordan/Jumpman part is highly overrated. Jordan sponsored schools can only wear Jordan Brand shoes. Which means they won't be wearing Lebrons, Kobe's, Durant's, etc. While Nike schools can still wear Jordan's if they want, since they're owned by Nike. The next crop of kids being recruited weren't even born when Jordan retired.

YaterSalad

July 6th, 2015 at 4:47 PM ^

It's not about the name any more ... It is the mystique of the Jumpman logo that the kids love. The Jordan brand is now hyper-exclusive shoes. People wait in line for them. People collect years worth of versions. People save and sell them on the internet. It is that hysteria, more than Jordan himself, that draws the young new recruits towards wearing the apparel.

Marcus818

July 6th, 2015 at 4:55 PM ^

Retro Jordan's are exclusive, and will not be given to the team or custom made. Jordan Brand shoes are what the team will get, and those are shit. They aren't exclusive, or hard to buy. Like I said, Nike schools, like Kentucky or Duke, can wear retro Jordan's if the kids get their hands on them, same as us. But not vice versa.

jaydubya

July 6th, 2015 at 4:49 PM ^

In my opinion, this is more than merely swapping three little lines for a swoosh.  It signifies a return to a previous winning identity, in the same vein as hiring Jim Harbaugh as our HC.  

We can't yet attribute a single win to either of these events, but achieving a winning identity matters.  We're moving in the right direction...

CoverZero

July 6th, 2015 at 4:49 PM ^

Michigan Football's W/L record during the Adidas Error, has been one of the worst...if not the worst eras in Michigan football history and includes 3 losing seasons. 

RIP Adidas -- 2008-2014.  (yes I know they probably will wear Adidas this year but Harbaugh)

allintime23

July 6th, 2015 at 4:53 PM ^

As the resident Adidas guy over the past eight years let me be the first to say yes. Yes, I am happy. Yes, this is a change for the better. Bring on the future from the past and lets get things back to what they always were and always will be.




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Yinka Double Dare

July 6th, 2015 at 4:54 PM ^

Tons of schools have Nike, but Michigan will be only the 5th in basketball to be Jordan Brand - others are UNC (obviously), Georgetown, Marquette, and bane of recruiting this most recent cycle, Cal.