Under Armour is attempting to break its 15-year, $280 million contract with UCLA.
“Under Armour has recently made the difficult decision to discontinue our partnership with UCLA, as we have been paying for marketing benefits that we have not received for an extended time period,” the company said in a statement Saturday. “The agreement allows us to terminate in such an event and we are exercising that right.”
UCLA and Under Armour reached the $280 million deal in May 2016, and it went into effect in July 2017. It remained the largest college apparel deal as of September 2019, according to Forbes.
“UCLA Athletics learned this week that Under Armour is attempting to terminate its 15-year apparel and footwear contract with us and the Bruin community,” the school said in a statement Saturday. “We are exploring all our options to resist Under Armour’s actions. We remain committed to providing our hard-working staff and student-athletes with the footwear, apparel and equipment needed to train and compete at the highest level, as they — and our loyal Bruin fans — deserve.”
Under Armour’s attempted move comes as UCLA is in the process of transitioning to Martin Jarmond as its new athletic director. The former Boston College AD is replacing Dan Guerrero next week.
