As the clock hit midnight and the calendar switched over to September 1st, Auburn Athletics officially hit the open market. The Tigers are free agents and are searching for a new contract.
As of today, Auburn’s deal with longtime apparel provider Under Armour has surpassed the “exclusive negotiating period.” Auburn can now, legally, speak to other companies about becoming the next apparel and uniform provider for the Tigers.
So what does this mean, exactly? Is the contract dead altogether? Let’s dive into some answers to many of your questions.
Is the Auburn-Under Armour contract still in effect?
Yes.
The contractual agreement between Auburn Athletics and Under Armour is valid until the night of June 30, 2025. Once the clock strikes midnight and turns to July 1, 2025, Auburn will enter the next phase of contracts, whether that be with Under Armour or a different company.
What is the “exclusive negotiating period” then?
In an effort to keep things moving along smoothly, these apparel contracts have a “good-faith” period built into them. This allows both parties – the team and the apparel provider – an opportunity to speak to each other and continue the relationship beyond the current terms of the deal.
This is what happened back in 2015 when Auburn announced the new contract that is currently ongoing.
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Why does the exclusive negotiating period end so early?
It takes time to get everything in line for a new deal. Whether it’s a brand new contract with Under Armour or a different company altogether, these things take a while. This period is set to end almost two years before the contract expires to give both parties the opportunity to figure out what is next.
While it’s a little different, take for example the NFL. For years now, the typical line is that it can take a solid two years for a franchise to design, develop, and implement a new logo or uniform design. And while that can be, in part, because of the NFL’s lengthy approval process, it encompasses so much more.
The big talking point is that the merchandising leg of things can take the longest time. Once the logo or uniform is approved, it now has to be sent to the correct partners to be utilized for fan apparel. There’s no use in releasing a new alternate uniform if there aren’t retail jerseys and corresponding merchandise available. And that manufacturing and shipping process takes time.
It’s the same with a university changing providers. If a school announces a new deal to begin tomorrow, there won’t be any merchandise available. While fans aren’t able to buy their new items, the players, coaches, and staff members won’t have anything to wear either.
That’s a storm of money left on the table and angry fans unable to spend that money that no one wants to deal with.
What is next for Auburn and Under Armour?
Let’s say this now: Under Armour is not out of the game.
Just look at Notre Dame. The Irish went through this same process – the exclusive negotiation period coming and going – only to resign with Under Armour. The free agency period for Notre Dame lasted less than two months.
Because Auburn has an opportunity to speak to other companies, they now have the opportunity to see who is the highest bidder. And that very well could be Under Armour.
Everyone is at the table now.
Will the current Under Armour contract be terminated before 2025?
It’s always a possibility. However, I don’t think it will happen.
Under Armour terminated deals with Cincinnati, UCLA, Boston College, Hawaii, and Cal years ago. Under Armour paid a big price to get UCLA and Cal, and it’s easy to see that they overvalued both contracts. Those deals, along with other financial woes, put Under Armour in a terrible bind.
Auburn wasn’t overvalued. Auburn didn’t squeeze Under Armour into a bind (and Under Armour didn’t squeeze Auburn). In fact, Auburn may have been undervalued (those stock options were a disaster).
But we’re now at the two-year warning on the current deal. If it were to be canceled, I expect it would have already been canceled. Much like I mentioned earlier, we’re at the point where Auburn and Under Armour have to start working on what’s next. If this relationship is dead, then the next relationship needs to start soon. The lead time on getting everything ready with Nike, Adidas, or whoever is a long one.
A cancelation at this point in the game means scrambling for all parties. And that wouldn’t be the best position for Auburn.
I fully expect to see Auburn live out the remaining two years of the deal with Under Armour.
Will Auburn be signing with Nike or Adidas?
It’s not a foregone conclusion that Auburn will sign with either. As discussed above, Under Armour isn’t out of this. I wouldn’t say that Under Armour is the favorite by any means, but they still have a fighting chance.
We also aren’t at the point to make a true prediction either way as nothing has happened. Again, today is the first time that Auburn and Nike, Adidas, or anyone else can legally speak to each other. The real negotiating starts now.
Anything said or reported previously was nothing more than conjecture and gut feelings.
Would Auburn be in line to do what Cincinnati and Cal did and sign with BSN Sports?
If you want Auburn to be among the best of the best, you best hope this doesn’t happen.
Both Cal and Cincinnati will wear Nike uniforms this season. But they aren’t officially Nike schools. Both programs signed with BSN Sports, a third-party apparel reseller that handles a lot of high school athletics around the country.
This option allowed Cal and Cincinnati to ultimately pick what brands they wanted to represent. BSN carries Nike, Under Armour, Russell, New Balance, and so on (minus Adidas). Cincinnati elected to wear Nike football uniforms while both basketball programs will go back to wearing Jordan Brand logos.
This type of deal doesn’t align well with being a top-tier team. It may work best for what Cincinnati and Cal needed at the moment, but I don’t see it working out for Auburn.
While some items may be similar to what “key partner” teams will wear, these BSN-partnered schools will be choosing from a more limited catalog – literally. Take the football jerseys, for example. The top teams have moved over to the Vapor FUSE template. Cincinnati and Cal will wear the “catalog version” of the FUSE template, which includes slightly different materials and a few other differences in the cut itself.
There’s been some controversy this summer as an Adidas employee stated that they have a split in the top level of teams. Of the thirteen “top” teams, only the top six get access to “a little more custom design” and the top templates.
Adidas’s new Primeknit AI Ghost uniform this season has a drastic difference between the top six teams like Mississippi State and the next seven like Kansas. The template itself goes from seemingly three panels and a simple construction to mesh areas on both sides and across the nameplate, creating a more complicated build.
Is Auburn in a position to be a “top tier” program with whichever company they sign with?
That’s the big question. Being a top team is what every school wants to be. You get the best gear for the players and the best merchandise for the fans, among other perks.
Auburn got that, to a degree, with Under Armour. In terms of contract value, Auburn came in at third or so on Under Armour’s list (Notre Dame and Wisconsin topped that 2015 deal and then the UCLA and Cal contracts came along.).
If you take a look around and see what teams wear Nike and Adidas, it’s going to be a very tough fight to get to the top five there. Between Alabama, Florida, Oklahoma, North Carolina, USC, UCLA, Oregon, and so on, it’s a crowded list with Nike (and yes, I know some of these teams technically wear Jordan Brand, but they’re the same product and company in the end).
I think, however biased I may be, that Auburn should be considered a top-tier program. You won’t see Auburn getting the lower-level jersey templates like some non-Power 5 schools. But I also don’t think Auburn is going to be seen as or treated as the cream of the crop like some other programs.
You just have to hope that whoever is at the negotiating table for Auburn is going to fight. And with Cohen and Co. leading the way, I think they’ll fight until the end.
Are there options outside of Nike, Adidas, and Under Armour?
Those are the big three. There really aren’t many options beyond that for the top level of college athletics.
Boston College signed with New Balance after the Under Armour deal was terminated. Except the football team is signed with Adidas. Years ago we saw UConn wear Aeropostale. Youth and high school teams are often seen wearing other brands, though they’re not typically recognizable companies.
When Auburn signed with Under Armour in December 2005, Under Armour wasn’t all that well known. If Auburn were to go that same “undiscovered talent” route, it’s difficult to imagine what brands would be available.
With Auburn’s up-and-down relationship with Under Armour – despite the stakeholders for both parties being different – it’s hard to think the Tigers will go down the same route if given the opportunity.
What are the chances Auburn could sign with Nike but wear a custom “Bo Knows” branding?
Despite the popularity of this request on social media, it’s a long shot.
Bo Knows a good looking uniform. (original image via Austin Perryman, Auburn Athletics)
The Jumpman logo didn’t start appearing on football uniforms until 2015 when Michigan became the first to wear Jordan Brand on the gridiron. Jordan has been a luxury brand under the Nike umbrella since 1984. That’s a long period for the brand to build itself and become a cultural icon.
The “Bo Knows” marketing campaign ran in 1989 and 1990. While Bo Jackson is himself a cultural icon and is often debated as the greatest athlete of all time, he hasn’t played a professional sporting event since 1994. Bo Jackson enjoys staying out of the public light, whereas Jordan seems to relish in the attention.
All that to say, I think there are two main hurdles to this idea coming to fruition.
First, the brand power. Jordan Brand has for decades been recognizable, iconic, and successful. The Bo Knows campaign is, admittedly, a relic of the past at this point. If a Bo Jackson brand were to be utilized, it would have a long road ahead to build the same footing that Jordan has.
Then, there’s whether Bo Jackson would even want this to be a thing. I don’t know the man, but I have always felt like Bo is a quiet, reserved, humble, and private man.
Utilizing a name like Bo Jackson would be incredibly unique for Auburn and create a fun situation. It would be great to have a direct connection to the apparel logo rather than having a basketball logo on a football uniform like Jordan teams.
I just can’t see it actually happening.
What does your gut say happens from here?
If I had to make a prediction today, I think Auburn ultimately wears Nike apparel and uniforms come the 2025-26 season. I said it back in 2021 as well.
That was before John Cohen and his team came aboard. Coming from Mississippi State, we know that they likely have strong relationships with the people at Adidas. In my mind, that connection would sway the odds ever-so-slightly.
I’m not involved in these discussions or privy to any information from inside the athletics department. This is all simply a gut feeling.
I do think that Nike provides a lot more positives to Auburn across the board. The biggest problem with going the Nike route is that Auburn is one of about 70 FBS teams to wear the Swoosh. Nike has long held about a 50% market share in college athletics. It’s hard to be more of “another fish in the sea” when it comes to being a Nike partner.
While Adidas is another large program, they have a market share more similar to Under Armour, especially when you look solely at Power 5 schools. If you want to be a “top tier” team, the odds are better going with the Three Stripes.
The word through the grapevine is that Bo Jackson and Charles Barkley have long petitioned for Auburn to sign with Nike. As lifelong Nike ambassadors themselves, two of the greatest Auburn athletes haven’t sported official Auburn merchandise with the partner provider’s logo in decades. Getting these two icons wearing shirts with the Auburn logo and not needing to tape over the manufacturer logo is a big bonus.
As I’ve said all along: it depends on who is at the table for Auburn and what they want to get out of the deal. Adidas and Under Armour have previously been willing to deal out the cash to get teams under their banner while Nike seemingly sits back and lets their brand speak for itself.
Does Auburn want money? To be a “key partner?” Or the best products available?
That’s what this will ultimately come down to.
There is so much that goes into something like an apparel contract. It’s not just about the uniforms or the fan apparel. It takes a great working relationship to keep both the school and apparel provider happy.
Stay tuned to the Auburn Uniform Database as we’ll cover the ongoing journey through Auburn’s next apparel contract.
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