Now that Adidas officials and Univ. of Louisville basketball coaches are "implicated in a federal investigation into a 'pay-for-play' scheme involving highly prized recruits, it is unclear" how the school's recent 10-year, $160M contract extension with Adidas "will hold up," according to Danielle Lerner of the Louisville COURIER-JOURNAL. An Adidas spokesperson "did not respond to emails Tuesday asking if the deal will be affected by the FBI investigation, which included the arrest of two Adidas employees." UL is "nearing the end of its current agreement with Adidas, which ran through this coming school year with a one-year extension option," and was worth $39M over five years. The recent extension, which will take effect July 1, ranks as the "fourth-richest apparel deal in college athletics and the most lucrative brand sponsorship" in the ACC. UL's deal is the "largest Adidas has with any school." The contract does "not stipulate whether either party has the right to terminate based on allegations of criminal activity like the ones included in the FBI investigation." If UL's "massive deal with Adidas turns sour as a result of the scandal, it will hurt more than just the men's basketball program." Meanwhile for Adidas, terminating the agreement would mean "losing its largest university partnership" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 9/27). In Louisville, Sarah Riley reported about 10 minutes before a scheduled press conference yesterday to "discuss the ouster of basketball head coach Rick Pitino," the UL Athletics Facebook page "removed the Adidas logo from its profile photo" (COURIER-JOURNAL.com, 9/27). Meanwhile in Providence, Kevin McNamara reports the FBI yesterday "reportedly" subpoenaed the records of Nike's EYBL grassroots hoops program (PROVIDENCE JOURNAL, 9/28).
