November 9, 2010

In the never ending sporting apparel battle, Under Armour just struck a large blow…against the largest competitor.

New England Patriots QB Tom Brady has signed an endorsement deal with Under Armour, picking up Brady after his Nike apparel contract expired last summer.

According to Sports Illustrated’s Peter King, Brady will begin appearing in Under Armour commercials and print ads starting in early 2011.  Although, he may have inadvertently given away his new sponsorship deal on ESPN’s Mayne Event (seen on Sunday NFL Countdown) where Brady was seen wearing Under Armour apparel during the sketch,

Brady’s main reason for signing the deal with Under Armour?  ”He likes to stay on the cutting edge.” No, seriously.  He said that,

“Under Armour’s everything I was looking for,” Brady said. “It’s cool. It’s fun. It’s what so many of the kids are wearing, and I like to try to stay cutting-edge. I like the company. I think we’ve got a lot in common. We both want to stay hungry, stay humble.”

Of course, more than his urge to be as hip as Justin Beiber, maybe its the fact that the 33 year old QB received a financial stake in the company that made the deal a little more appealing,

“Tom is a shareholder in Under Armour,” said 38-year-old company founder and CEO Kevin Plank. “Equity was a part of our deal. That was important to Tom, that [a stake in the company] was a part of the deal.” (via Sports Illustrated)

Maybe Brady has been following Under Armour’s financial situation all year?  The company’s stock is up 79% YTD, and the company seems to be showing no signs of slowing down, also recently signing Baltimore Ravens Receiver Anquan Boldin and Dallas Cowboys Receiver Miles Austin to endorsement deals.  Those three join a stable that already includes Ravens Linebacker Ray Lewis, and American Olympians Michael Phelps and Lindsey Vonn.

Nike is still Goliath, as far as the apparel market goes, and Under Armour is only 1/20th the size of Nike…and yet, Under Armour has been able to acquire some fairly big names under their belt, with Brady obviously being the biggest.  What is the draw?  Is it the equity stake?  We don’t see it often in the world of sports sponsorships, but maybe that’s the leverage that smaller companies need?

Be Sociable, Share!