When University of Louisville athletes arrived on campus in fall 2005, they divvied up $670,000 in Adidas footwear and apparel. The sportswear company also wrote the university a $20,000 check in exchange for the right to outfit players.
This year, the university’s athletes will get $6 million in Adidas gear, and the school will get $10 million in cash. The university also will get $3 million from Adidas for help marketing the athletic department.
Louisville’s new Adidas deal, signed in July, is one in a string of recent blockbuster contracts between sportswear companies and top college athletic departments.
The deals have mushroomed in size as college sports has exploded in popularity and Under Armour has emerged as a serious third bidder next to Adidas and Nike Inc.
The Portland Business Journal has maintained an online database of collegiate apparel deals since 2013. It estimates Nike, Adidas and Under Armour steer a combined $300 million annually to university athletic departments.
Click through this gallery for details on the top 20 deals this year.
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