Cohen doing ‘due diligence’ on Under Armour deal
LAGRANGE | Auburn could be in the market for a new apparel deal in less than four months.
The exclusive negotiating window with Under Armour is set to expire Sept. 1, which would allow Auburn to seek a new partner for the first time since 2006.
“We're going to enter a stage on Sept. 1 where we're allowed to speak openly about this subject, but we will do a lot of research,” said athletics director John Cohen before an appearance at the LaGrange AMBUSH alumni meeting.
“We'll do our due diligence, and we'll be ready to have conversations about the future of Auburn and our apparel partner, and I have had some discussions with Under Armour. They've been terrific, and we'll see where it takes us in the future.”
Auburn originally signed with Under Armour in December of 2005, with the deal going into effect for the 2006-07 season. The agreement was extended for $78.1 million in 2015 and runs through June of 2025.
The extension included $10 million in Under Armour (UAA) stock, which was worth just $1.8 million by July of 2020 according to a report by Sportico.
The UAA share price has further dropped from $9.91 to $7.62 since Sportico published its story.
In May of 2021, Under Armour was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission for misleading investors on revenue growth and paid a $9 million fine.
Under Armour paid UCLA $67.5 million to settle a lawsuit in 2022 after Under Armour attempted to terminate its 15-year sponsorship deal with the Bruins.
Under Armour CEO Patrik Frisk resigned in May of 2022 and was replaced by Stephanie Linnartz, formerly the President of Marriott, in January of 2023.
NIKE is the market leader in NCAA apparel deals outfitting 39 Power 5 schools followed by Adidas (11), Under Armour (7), Air Jordan (6) and New Balance (1).
Notre Dame allowed its negotiating window with Under Armour to expire earlier this year and its free to sign with another brand at the end of the 2024 season.
Along with Auburn and Notre Dame, the other prominent schools still partnering with Under Armour include Wisconsin, South Carolina, Utah and Maryland.
“I've only been at Auburn for six months, so my knowledge of the history of this relationship is a little bit limited,” said Cohen. “Although, I'm getting information from our coaches, from our student-athletes. Obviously, our fans, as in most cases, have an opinion. So we're doing a lot of research.”