Nike Replaces Under Armour as MLB Uniform Supplier – Report

The Under Armour (UA) and Major League Baseball (MLB) 10-year deal may come to an end before it even began.

According to a report, citing an anonymous source, Nike and MBL are close to a deal wherein Nike would be the official partner of the league for on-field apparel rights set to start in 2020.

A spokeswoman for UA said, “Per company policy, Under Armour does not comment on speculation or rumors.”

MBL, on the other hand, declined to comment.

Way back to baseball’s winter meetings in 2016, UA announced a deal with MBL as the official uniform supplier of the league. UA called its first agreement with an American professional sports league a ‘massive statement’.

At the time, Rob Manfred, MLB Commissioner, said team owners were attracted to UA due to its appeal to the young generation.

However, UA’s slow sales growth and increased market competition affected the overall bloom of the company. The changing demand for athletic apparel, which has been weak in UA’s market in the US, was also a factor.

Furthermore, the back out of Sports Business Daily contributed to UA’s recent financial difficulties. The company backed out of the deal with UA in order to reduce overhead and save about $50 million.

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Meanwhile, experts say that a pullback from the deal is not surprising since the deal turns out to be one way the company makes good on its promise to be leaner and more efficient rather than growing.

TJ Brightman, A. Bright Idea’s president, said, “Under Armour has been very successful and strategic with grass roots marketing, using professional athletes and effectively going up against a Goliath like Nike, where Nike has had the ability to do these large licensing deal with professional teams.”

He added that the possible end of the deal between UA and MLB “Is just a sign of the times with respect to Under Armour’s situation and keeping the stockholders happy.”

According to industry analysts, such licensing agreements can create hundreds of millions of dollars per year if pushed in the long term. UA had agreed to supply game-day outerwear, base layer undershirts, and year-round training apparel for MLB.

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