In Portland, Matthew Kish noted the Univ. of Iowa in June “signed an extension that will keep its athletes in Nike uniforms and footwear” through the end of the '17-18 academic year. The extension include $1.5M "in Nike Footwear and apparel this year," which is an increase from $1.25M in the previous contract. Iowa also gets $350,000 in cash from Nike "each of the five years of the deal in exchange for giving Nike the right to be its exclusive athletic apparel provider." Men’s basketball coach Fran McCaffery "will get $150,000 of the cash payment from Nike each year" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/13).
SHUFFLE UP: Former NFLer Ickey Woods appeared on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL” last night and discussed how his commercial with Geico came about. Woods said, "They just called me one day and asked me would I be interested in doing it. We talked a little bit and we got it done. ... I guess that’s me now. Everywhere I go, everybody knows me as the cold cut man now” (“Inside the NFL,” Showtime, 10/14).
I NEED A HERO: ESPN.com’s Darren Rovell noted Ohio-based sandwich shop Mr. Hero signed Browns QB Brian Hoyer to a deal last spring, and has "filmed TV and radio spots and allotted marketing dollars for billboards and buses wrapped with his image." All Media Design Group Owner Dan Traci, whose ad firm handles the Mr. Hero account, said, "We didn’t quite anticipate that they’d draft Johnny [Manziel], so we were sweating a bit." Traci said that the deal is "for less than six figures annually, comes with incentives based on on-field performance and accolades, and, if Hoyer turns into a real star, allows Mr. Hero the option to retain Hoyer for next year at the terms already agreed to" (ESPN.com, 10/13).
