News Tracking Official Adidas / Other Gear

[Five Two]

Adidas just sold Taylor Made, Adams Golf and Ashworth for $425M. I guess that means our golf team can use whatever clubs and balls they want next season.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

Adidas just sold Taylor Made, Adams Golf and Ashworth for $425M. I guess that means our golf team can use whatever clubs and balls they want next season.

Did they have to use their clubs anyway? Or was it just apparel?

 

[MasonSAE4]

Adidas just sold Taylor Made, Adams Golf and Ashworth for $425M. I guess that means our golf team can use whatever clubs and balls they want next season.

Seems like it would be weird if they had to use Adidas clubs in the first place. In sports where you have supplementary equipment they often don't care if you use another brand.

 

[MasonSAE4]

To my knowledge, you are correct about using supplementary equipment. Only caveat I would add is that so long as it is not an adidas competitor. I don't think using Titleist balls is a problem, but using Nike balls would be. Just how basketball used Mohinder/The Rock basketballs in our first year with adidas, but adidas basketballs last year.

Must be sport specific rules then because it soccer you can wear whatever cleat you want, and goalkeepers can wear whatever gloves they feel like.

 

[Five Two]

I would imagine that if Adidas makes a cleat/sneaker/soccer ball/basketball, etc then we should be using it. I know at a Nike sponsored school, that is the rule they follow. If Nike makes that product, you need to wear/use it. And why not, you are getting them for free. So I would assume our golf team was given Taylor Made clubs, shoes, balls, bags and other accessories as needed.
Since Adidas doesn't make baseball/softball bats, those teams can go cut deals with different manufacturers.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I don't know anything about the soccer team so I will defer on that one. Is there anybody on the team that wears Nike or Under Armour cleats?

Can't speak to Mason's team specifically but my friend was captain at BC and he said they could wear whatever they wanted despite being a UA school. At the end of the day you don't want an athlete using something he isn't comfortable in, and cleats/gloves are something where different brands fit different people better. In the pro's they can wear whatever they want despite the team having a deal for the jersey's, I'd be surprised if the collegiate level was any different.

 

[dr. gunnie]

I've spent the past few weeks working on a contract with Under Armour for the high school I work at. While I'm sure there are many differences between our contract and what a team like BC might get, we were required to have all teams outfitted in UA gear for their field/game uniforms which include socks if socks were visible. Teams that have a warm-up weren't necessarily required to wear UA, but it couldn't be a competing brand - had to be no name brand. Basketball, however, was required to have UA shooting shirts (they wanted the marquee sports). Our kids were allowed to wear competing brand shoes, but they were also offered UA shoes at a 35% to 40% discount off of the MSRP to help sway them to UA.

Our contract has us getting 40% off MSRP on all uniforms, coaching gear, and apparel. We were given $11,000 over 5 years (I negotiated to 5 from the original 3 years that UA wanted) to help get all teams uniformed in UA (1st year $4,000, 2nd year $3,000, 3rd year $2,000, 4th and 5th year $1,000), and any money we spend on UA gear we make get 10% back on future gear. For example, last year we sold $4,000 in UA gear on our fan order, so we would make $400 toward a future purchase.

It's a pretty interesting process. Of course, I'm sure it's vastly different from the major DI UA deals, but probably not too far off from the smaller school deals that they sign - just on a smaller scale.

 

[MasonSAE4]

I've spent the past few weeks working on a contract with Under Armour for the high school I work at. While I'm sure there are many differences between our contract and what a team like BC might get, we were required to have all teams outfitted in UA gear for their field/game uniforms which include socks if socks were visible. Teams that have a warm-up weren't necessarily required to wear UA, but it couldn't be a competing brand - had to be no name brand. Basketball, however, was required to have UA shooting shirts (they wanted the marquee sports). Our kids were allowed to wear competing brand shoes, but they were also offered UA shoes at a 35% to 40% discount off of the MSRP to help sway them to UA.

Our contract has us getting 40% off MSRP on all uniforms, coaching gear, and apparel. We were given $11,000 over 5 years (I negotiated to 5 from the original 3 years that UA wanted) to help get all teams uniformed in UA (1st year $4,000, 2nd year $3,000, 3rd year $2,000, 4th and 5th year $1,000), and any money we spend on UA gear we make get 10% back on future gear. For example, last year we sold $4,000 in UA gear on our fan order, so we would make $400 toward a future purchase.

It's a pretty interesting process. Of course, I'm sure it's vastly different from the major DI UA deals, but probably not too far off from the smaller school deals that they sign - just on a smaller scale.

Right this is exactly what I'm saying. Uniforms are always going to have to be branded with whoever you have the deal with, it's things like footwear and other equipment that is left to preference. My high school had Nike everything and we were offered a huge deal on stuff but there was no way I was wearing anything other than the Adidas gloves I always had despite being offered Nike gloves for like $80 off. I'm assuming it works similar for golf. Adidas would probably rather have a team winning wearing their polos than losing because they mandated a kid switched from the clubs he's used his whole life.

 

[Quentin Daniels]

I've spent the past few weeks working on a contract with Under Armour for the high school I work at. le.

Those percentages are very similar to the deal I helped setup for our district w/ a $250K cash payment & apparel credit. Ours came down to Nike and Adidas and we went Adidas as the Nike distributor didn't include shoes in their offer. UA didn't make the cut for us as they weren't able to provide uniforms for all state sanctioned school sports at the time, but that was also 5 years ago and know they've expanded their sports lines significantly since. We're now the largest Adidas purchasing district in the U.S. Should make for a nice bargaining chip w/the contract up for renewal.

Some learnings on our side - some of the coaches will be pissed. Some of that will be based on loyalty & established relationships with their previous vendors, but some of that is....I don't want to say kickbacks...but coaches apparel and other goodies being donated in exchange for getting the coaches offer.

Stay on your vendor. The influx of business may overwhelm them at first as they ramp up. Maybe not as big a deal for one school, but for ours to suddenly get all the orders from every middle & high school took some adjustment that first year.

Also, negotiate the customization rates - it's great that you get a large discount on the shirt, but if the distributor is jacking up the costs to put on logos and names you're not saving much. Signage is something to also look into rolling into the agreement and naming rights. You have to make sure it's not going to conflict w/your board policies but a banner or sign in every court and field is a positive. We also get extra freebies for any team that wins a state championship.

Spring sports need to get orders in as soon as they can. The manufacturers put it in their orders early and get a lot of inventory up front. If they wait too long, some of the most popular items will be out of stock or delayed in arriving.

 

[dr. gunnie]

Those percentages are very similar to the deal I helped setup for our district w/ a $250K cash payment & apparel credit. Ours came down to Nike and Adidas and we went Adidas as the Nike distributor didn't include shoes in their offer. UA didn't make the cut for us as they weren't able to provide uniforms for all state sanctioned school sports at the time, but that was also 5 years ago and know they've expanded their sports lines significantly since. We're now the largest Adidas purchasing district in the U.S. Should make for a nice bargaining chip w/the contract up for renewal.

Some learnings on our side - some of the coaches will be pissed. Some of that will be based on loyalty & established relationships with their previous vendors, but some of that is....I don't want to say kickbacks...but coaches apparel and other goodies being donated in exchange for getting the coaches offer.

Stay on your vendor. The influx of business may overwhelm them at first as they ramp up. Maybe not as big a deal for one school, but for ours to suddenly get all the orders from every middle & high school took some adjustment that first year.

Also, negotiate the customization rates - it's great that you get a large discount on the shirt, but if the distributor is jacking up the costs to put on logos and names you're not saving much. Signage is something to also look into rolling into the agreement and naming rights. You have to make sure it's not going to conflict w/your board policies but a banner or sign in every court and field is a positive. We also get extra freebies for any team that wins a state championship.

Spring sports need to get orders in as soon as they can. The manufacturers put it in their orders early and get a lot of inventory up front. If they wait too long, some of the most popular items will be out of stock or delayed in arriving.

We only had one coach have a mini tantrum. Our customization on the free gear is also free which is good, our other rates on purchased items remains the same. It's through the same vendor we've been using for the past 6 years so I pretty much know those prices like the back of my hand. Banners have been taken care of. We are a very small school - 389 students in the high school, so $11,000 for us will go a long way for the uniforms. It also helps that football is already head-to-toe in UA for all three sets of unis we have, so none of that $11,000 needs to go to football.

 

[Cedric Dempsey]

Must be sport specific rules then because it soccer you can wear whatever cleat you want, and goalkeepers can wear whatever gloves they feel like.

Adidas would never waive the shoe portion of their deal. Seriously, soccer? If a company waives a product it is because the product is new to the line or the product is known to suck. UA's soccer shoes are awful.

 

[MasonSAE4]

Adidas would never waive the shoe portion of their deal. Seriously, soccer? If a company waives a product it is because the product is new to the line or the product is known to suck. UA's soccer shoes are awful.

I could be wrong but Mason's team photo has a few kids in it in all black cleats which makes me think they're blacked out. No visible Adidas markings. Again, I don't know for a fact. But the NCAA level would be the only level they do it on if that's the case.

 

[MasonFanatic]

I know for a fact our players wore other brands of shoes back when we were with Nike. The rule was that they had to tape over or black out any competing logos.

 

[Five Two]

I know for a fact our players wore other brands of shoes back when we were with Nike. The rule was that they had to tape over or black out any competing logos.

that was a different time, though. TOC was not forcing Nike on all sports and I am sure the rules around basketball sneakers were not as strict. I used to laugh when Marco would come out in sneaks that looked like he just got done mowing the lawn.
I know Shevon had issues last year with the Adidas sneaks and was allowed to cover up non-Adidas logos on what he wore, but that was more of a medical reason.
regardless, I am glad BE got the deal done and all the teams are on board.

 

[TweederGMU]

I do remember Markos lawn mowing shoes. I'm a sneaker guy, and I believe those were the Hyperdunk 2013 lows.

In other news, in just two years shorts really have gotten smaller.

Haha, I've noticed the shorts getting smaller and smaller over the years too. Baggy and Long athletic/basketball shorts were "Cool" and the go to's in the late 90s and throughout the 2000s.

Seems the times have shifted and the long/baggy look is no longer the style and kids these days want tighter fitting, smaller gear..... especially the shorts for some reason. I've noticed our players love small, tighter fitting uniforms the past few years. Must be the new style and they must like the feel. Seems all of them wear the tight spandex shorts underneath their basketball shorts too. I never wore anything spandex under my basketball shorts..... changing of the times.

I blame Hipsters, Skinny Jeans, Under Armor, and Russell Westbrook

 

[GMUgemini]

Haha, I've noticed the shorts getting smaller and smaller over the years too. Baggy and Long athletic/basketball shorts were "Cool" and the go to's in the late 90s and throughout the 2000s.

Seems the times have shifted and the long/baggy look is no longer the style and kids these days want tighter fitting, smaller gear..... especially the shorts for some reason. I've noticed our players love small, tighter fitting uniforms the past few years. Must be the new style and they must like the feel. Seems all of them wear the tight spandex shorts underneath their basketball shorts too. I never wore anything spandex under my basketball shorts..... changing of the times.

I blame Hipsters, Skinny Jeans, Under Armor, and Russell Westbrook

Those big shorts weighed like 10 pounds once you sweat in them. Probably cost some kids 1/2 to an inch of vertical just from all that fabric.

 

[Patriotsince81]

Now that's funny! Might as well wear this

 

[Patriotsince81]

Or this. Welcome your 2017-2018 Patriots!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Patriotsince81]

Greg Calixte defending the post.

 

[Pikapppatri8]

Anyone hear from Carolina lately?........