Under Armour yesterday announced it signed Chinese Basketball Association team Guangdong Southern Tigers G Emmanuel Mudiay, who "decided to bypass college and head overseas to play," according to Jeff Borzello of CBSSPORTS.com. Terms of the contract were not revealed. Mudiay is the "highest-rated player to bypass college" since Pistons G Brandon Jennings and free agent C Jeremy Tyler. Mudiay was the "No. 2 prospect in the class of 2014 ... and signed with SMU." Assuming he "decides to enter next June's NBA Draft, Mudiay could be in the mix for the No. 1 overall pick" (CBSSPORTS.com, 9/16). In Baltimore, Sarah Meehan noted while UA is "working to increase the heavy hitting athletes on its endorsement team, the company also goes after rising stars, like Mudiay, with the hope they will grow into the next household names in sports." Other "young athletes" who endorse UA include golfer Jordan Spieth, Nationals LF Bryce Harper and Hornets G Kemba Walker (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/16).
SQUARING OFF: CNBC's Andrew Ross Sorkin said Nike vs. UA is the "biggest rivalry in sports right now." Though Nike "makes more than ten times the revenue" of UA, the two companies are "going at it dollar-for-dollar in the heated battle for top athlete endorsers." Sterne Agee Senior Research Analyst Sam Poser said UA in five years will not be the size of Nike, but could be a $10B company, which would make the brand a "major player." UA has "huge opportunities and they've been very focused and very methodical about what they're doing." Meanwhile, Poser said Nike will recoup its investment of over $265M in Thunder F Kevin Durant by "how they position the brand over time." Nike spent over $3B in marketing last year, so finding $300M over 10 years is "not that hard to find, and they could cut it out of so many different things that nobody around would know they actually cut any marketing spending." But Poser noted Nike has "created a little arms race within themselves" when it comes time to re-sign Cavaliers F LeBron James. That maybe creates a "bad precedent going forward" ("Squawk Box," CNBC, 9/16).
