UCLA, adidas Reach Deal In Principle To Extend Partnership

Current UCLA-adidas Contract Due To Expire In June '11

UCLA and adidas have reached an agreement in principle to extend the company’s exclusive sponsorship of Bruins athletics. Terms of the extension have not been disclosed, said a UCLA spokesperson, because a contract has not been signed and talks are still ongoing. There is no timeline for an announcement on the extension. A new deal would continue the partnership that has been in place since ’99, when adidas and UCLA first agreed to terms of the shoe and apparel contract. The parties extended the initial deal in ’05 through next June. A new agreement between UCLA and adidas would put to rest questions over the future of the partnership. School newspaper the Daily Bruin in April reported that UCLA officials submitted a proposal to adidas but had yet to hear a response, just days before an exclusive negotiating window was due to expire. However, the university spokesperson yesterday stressed that UCLA has not publicly discussed terms of the tentative extension, which is contrary to a published report from the weekend (Brian Helfrich, THE DAILY). In Portland, Rachel Bachman cited UCLA AD Dan Guerrero as indicating that the impending seven-year extension with adidas "will approach Michigan's unparalleled deal, worth $7.5 million annually." Open records show that UCLA's current deal is worth $4.6M per year (Portland OREGONIAN, 6/5).

NOTE: * = This deal has expired. Cal's contracts did not include the value of shoes and other promised apparel.