The 18-year relationship between Auburn and Under Armour has come to an end today as Auburn Athletics announced a new apparel provider.
The Tigers will kick off the 2025-26 athletic season wearing Nike uniforms and apparel. This marks the first change in uniform manufacturer for Auburn since originally signing with Under Armour in December 2005. The deal was announced by Auburn to be 10 years.
Auburn will officially begin the Nike relationship on July 1, 2025.
The news was first reported by Jason Caldwell of 24/7 Sports.
Many fans – and some coaches and athletes – have campaigned for the change for years.
While many of the discussion points have been debatable at best and moot at worst, there was a desire among most parties for something new. The Baltimore-based Under Armour has seen multiple financial hardships and a rotating door of top-level executives in recent years. The stability of the company was questioned by many experts and fans alike.
When Auburn signed the current long-term deal with Under Armour in 2015, the Tigers were paid, in part, with $10 million in stock options. Under Armour stocks were trading at $54 at the time, the company’s all-time high. April 2020 was the then lowest point at $8 per stock. Stocks rebounded upwards to $20 in July 2021. As of March 1, 2024, Under Armour stocks were valued at almost $9 before dipping downwards to $7 a share after it was announced that founder Kevin Plank would return to the CEO seat. On April 5, the price had dipped even lower to $6.80.
Run the numbers on each of these points and you’ll get a clear indication of the spiral Under Armour has experienced. The $10 million in 2015 was valued at $1.7 million in 2020 and $3.725 million in 2021. At the low of $6.80 per share, it’s now valued at $1.259 million.
Under Armour’s financial issues have been well documented and have had lingering effects on the company, its public perception, and the teams wearing the UA logo.
The ink is still drying on the Auburn-Nike contract. Once the deal is public, we’ll break down all of the details just as we did in 2015.
𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗙𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁.
July 2025.#WarEagle pic.twitter.com/j0Rr7Zqq9n— Auburn Tigers (@AuburnTigers) April 9, 2024
Read More
A renewed relationship
This isn’t the first time that Auburn and Nike have been partnered in some fashion.
While the Tigers wore Russell Athletic uniforms for decades, many athletes would sport Nike cleats. Russell didn’t produce shoes, after all, so there was no conflict. Once Under Armour took over in 2006-07 and began making shoes and cleats, the Swoosh was no longer seen on Auburn athletes.
Back in 1995, Auburn had a deal agreed on in principle with the Oregon-based company.
According to newspaper clippings from the time, Nike offered both Auburn and Alabama deals that were considerably higher than what they each had with Russell Athletic.
“Our president [William Muse] was very clear with us that we wouldn’t even consider another bid unless it was substantially higher – much, much higher – than Russell’s bid,” head coach Terry Bowden told the Montgomery Advertiser in May 1995.
Auburn Football once wore Nike cleats and gloves while using Nike made footballs. (image via Todd J. Van Emst, Auburn Athletics)
Alabama signed a deal worth $2 million more than what Russell offered. Auburn signed a letter of agreement, but the contract was never signed. Then-athletic director David Housel indicated that the deal was expected to be signed “within a week or so.”
That never happened. The formal contract never arrived to the Auburn Athletic Department, leaving Auburn to resign with Russell. In addition to the logistic issues, many in and around Auburn were concerned that the move would be a big hit to Russell’s business.
Russell Athletics was located in Alexander City, just 45 minutes north of Auburn’s campus up Highway 280. Russell employed many people from Lee County, and some feared it would negatively impact the local economy. Alabama Senator Ted Little even sent a letter to Governor Fob James (who played football for Auburn and was named an All-American halfback in 1955) requesting an investigation into the Nike contracts for Auburn and Alabama.
Russell Athletics would survive in Alexander City for the next decade. Auburn announced the new deal with Under Armour in December 2005 to be effective in the summer of 2006. Russell was also the exclusive provider of Major League Baseball uniforms from 1995 to 2004 until Majestic would take over in 2005.
In 2006, Russell Athletics was sold to Berkshire Hathaway and joined the Fruit of the Loom family of products. The local Alexander City plant was shut down in July 2009, over 100 years since being founded in the city.
Next Steps
Now that the deal is signed and announced, what’s next?
Most of the work now will be behind the scenes. With just about a year before the contract goes into place, it’s time to start the initial design and order processes.
Auburn has likely already been in contact with Nike to get the first year’s apparel and uniforms designed and ordered. It’s unlikely you’ll see many drastic design changes in the first year, with more drastic changes being possible afterward.
It’s important for Nike to get brand new uniforms for the teams, apparel and accessories for the athletes, and have enough stock available for retail stores. The last thing that Nike needs is for Auburn fans to be unable to purchase new shirts and such in a timely manner.
From there, you’ll also see a ton of the new signage on and around campus. All of the Under Armour signs will likely come down at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season to be replaced with new Nike marketing materials.
There’s a lot of work to be done between now and the official start date of the Nike contract. Much more work will await once the Nike deal is in effect, too.
What to expect
While the uniforms will now feature the Nike swoosh on the chest, there’s more to it than just a logo swap. Let’s dive into the specific uniform styles that will likely be seen worn by the Auburn athletic teams.
The Nike Vapor FUSE and its distinctive grill and v-shaped seam, as seen on the Seattle Seahawks throwback jersey. (image via Seattle Seahawks)
Nike has continued to iterate on their football jersey templates, despite nailing it with the Vapor Untouchable. The current template of choice is the Vapor F.U.S.E., which stands for Field Utility Special Edition (get ready for a ton of crappy marketing terms like this).
The Vapor F.U.S.E. has two main identifiable features. The base of the collar has a large decorative piece. This often houses a team logo, which we might see Auburn utilize for the first time since 2004. Thankfully, Auburn doesn’t have a striped collar, as the “cowcatcher” grill disrupts the collar design, much like the original FlyWire did back in the day.
The other identifier is the v-shaped seam that runs across the chest, just below the collar. It tends to force wordmarks on the chest further down, which can crowd the number. Some teams with shoulder stripes or even unique designs have been seen wearing a modified version of the F.U.S.E. The v-shaped seam is instead straight across to better accommodate the stripes. This style allows for more natural placements of the chestmark.
It’s also important to mention here that Nike’s multiple tiers of retail jerseys have been impacted by the F.U.S.E. template as well. We’ll dive deeper into these later when the annual Apparel Overview article is published before the 2024-25 season begins. The biggest change is that the higher-tier, more expensive jerseys no longer include sewn-on tackle twill numbers and graphics. Everything is screen-printed or heat-pressed. The quality has decreased but the price has increased.
Remember the outcry when Major League Baseball began wearing a new Nike template uniform for the 2024 season? Well, that exact product is currently being used by collegiate programs. Auburn will follow suit. The new template features a thinner placket (the piece that houses the buttons), a thin “sun collar,” and a lighter base that is supposed to be more comfortable to wear. The numbers are often perforated to cut down on weight even further.
The see-through pants, smaller font for names, and other issues that plagued the MLB rollout haven’t been very prevalent in the college ranks. That’s partly due to each school managing its own uniforms and not being restricted to Nike and MLB streamlining items.
Nike’s softball uniforms don’t get the same treatment as their baseball counterparts. The biggest issue that often plagues Nike’s softball uniforms is with the collars. The traditional placket striping often halts at the chestmark and doesn’t continue through and below the rest of the jersey. The large, solid-colored pullover collars are a little better. The classic v-neck style is a great approach but seems to be less utilized.
When it comes to basketball, there honestly isn’t much different about Nike’s offerings. The jerseys have a slightly tighter appearance than Under Armour’s tops. The shorts have an odd cutout on the sides, which can impact stripes and other design elements.
The biggest change that you’ll see with the Auburn basketball jerseys will be on the back of the collar. In 2019, Nike began adding gold tabs for teams that have won national championships. Auburn will likely wear a silver tab to indicate the program’s lone Final Four appearance in 2019. The NBA features a similar approach with the Larry O’Brien trophy being depicted alongside the number of titles for the franchise.
What about the design?
Don’t worry, the traditional Auburn football uniform that we all know and love will not see any design changes. The accompanying elements may change, but the jerseys will still be blue and white with striped sleeves. That won’t change just because Nike is now producing things.
Don’t forget: the teams get the final say (in most cases) on what is worn. Nike can present a million new concept designs to Auburn (much like Under Armour did), but it’s on Auburn to agree and sign off on everything.
As for the other sports, I think you’ll see a lot of similar designs. With Under Armour, Auburn took ownership of the Northwestern Stripes, sporting them in as many manners as possible. Expect Auburn’s design approach to be rather similar to past years. We may see some more unique elements to accommodate the templates and such, as mentioned above.
In the meantime…
Despite the writing on the wall, the Auburn-Under Armour relationship isn’t finished.
With another year on the record, Auburn and Under Armour will still be working together. While Under Armour may be understandably upset about the move, they have to hold up their end of the bargain and supply Auburn with what the Tigers need. In fact, Auburn has already placed orders for the upcoming 2024-25 season that would need to be fulfilled.
Under Armour merchandise will continue to be available online and in the local stores. Athletes will keep receiving new UA-logoed gear through the rest of the season.
Regardless, the Nike deal won’t take effect until July 1, 2025.
Once the transition commences, there will likely be a rush of new merchandise available on launch day. We may also see heavily discounted Under Armour items that will undoubtedly move very fast. Don’t be surprised if you see some stores offer a “trade-in” program to swap an old Under Armour item for a new or discounted Nike piece.
Be sure to stick to the Auburn Uniform Database as we will cover everything regarding the Auburn-Nike partnership. It’s going to be a busy year plus with the transition on the horizon.
Want to see more like this? Be sure to follow the Auburn Uniform Database on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for even more uniform news. For ways to support the AUD, including affiliate links to Fanatics and Dick’s Sporting Goods, visit the Support page.
Leave a Reply
Want to join the discussion?Feel free to contribute!