words // Darren Griffin:
After brokering an apparel partnership back in 2006 worth a reported $400 million over an 11 year span, adidas has withdrawn from bidding to extend their contract with the NBA. Pulling out of negotiations this month after talks of an extension have been open since 2012, its reported that adidas is looking to reallocate basketball funding and re-strategize positioning in the hoops market through amateur teams and expanding its roster of NBA players.
Further, its reported that adidas made the decision to gracefully bow out of negotiations when the NBA opened up bidding to other sportswear companies, namely Nike and Under Armour. That news leads many to believe that even if adidas wanted to renew their chances would have been slim. Consider UA recently passed adidas for the number two position in U.S. athletic sales, its largely thought that the NBA was under the impression that adidas had fallen too far behind its competitors.
Thus, starting in 2017, adidas’ Three Stripes logo will no longer don the NBA uniform – a clear indication that at that time it will be replaced with either a Nike or UA logo. But as weird as it may seem, adidas looks to be ok with it. Chris Grancio, adidas Global Basketball General Manager, stated that the deal hasn’t been as lucrative as they once hoped. What’s more, he believes a new investment strategy could revive their basketball sector and ignite it in the way they hoped the 2006 deal would.
That said, who would you rather see as the apparel provider for the NBA starting in 2017? Nike or Under Armour? Or maybe another sportswear brand? Give us your thoughts below on this seismic shift in NBA apparel.
Source: Biz Journals
