This post was updated May 24 at 10:40 a.m.
UCLA Athletics has signed a record-breaking apparel deal with Under Armour for 15 years and $280 million in products and cash, according to reports from ESPN and the Los Angeles Times.
The news was announced to coaches, athletes and staff in a closed-door event at 10 a.m. Tuesday morning in Pauley Pavilion, with samples of Under Armour gear on display. A source within the meeting confirmed that the contract is the largest in collegiate athletic history, marking the end of UCLA’s 18-year partnership with Adidas.
The new apparel deal would have an annual value of nearly $19 million. According to the LA Times, it includes $15 million in cash up front and $11 million annually in rights and marketing fees. UCLA will also receive $2 million dollars over of the next eight years to upgrade their facilities and $7.4 million each year in shoes, apparel, and equipment starting July 1, 2017.
Under Armour posted a Twitter video confirming its partnership with UCLA at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, while UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen broadcast his initial reaction out via Instagram, writing, “We’re still amateurs though,” before deleting the post.
The lucrative partnership would launch UCLA ahead of schools like Ohio State and Texas, which recently signed 15-year contracts with Nike, each worth $250 million or more.
The switch from Adidas would also make UCLA the third Pac-12 school to sign with Under Armour since 2008, joining Utah and California.
Cal’s 10-year, $86 million deal in late April gave the growing Maryland-based company its first West Coast flagship, with UCLA following right behind.
The new SoCal partnership will nearly quadruple the annual value of UCLA’s latest contract renewal with Adidas in June 2010, worth $7.5 million per year through 2017.
But after the two failed to renew their standing deal in April 2016, UCLA opened bidding on the athletic apparel rights to include rival brands Under Armour and Nike.
It has been nearly two decades since UCLA was last sponsored by a company other than Adidas. The athletic department switched from Reebok to Adidas in 1999, turning down a competing offer from Nike.
The current contract with Adidas terminates June 30, 2017.
