Oregon's new 11-year, $88M deal with Nike comes with "plenty of strings attached," including allowing the brand to "dictate 'from time-to-time' what specific uniforms or equipment UO sports teams must use," according to a front-page piece by Saul Hubbard of the Eugene REGISTER-GUARD. The deal also "contains financial penalties if too many football players tape up or 'spat' their ankles over their shoes in a game, even for medical reasons." Additionally, the contract "bans the Duck Store and other campus retailers from selling any product made by Nike’s big competitors -- Adidas, Under Armour, Reebok and Puma." It also gives Nike the "first crack at filling any large order of apparel bearing the university’s 'O' logo for groups that have nothing to do with sports: student clubs, alumni groups or academic departments." UO would see an "increase in the royalties it receives from the sale of Oregon-themed Nike products" -- up from 12% to 15% -- but its royalty rate for shoes stays at 5%. UO Associate AD/Communications Jimmy Stanton said that Nike royalty payments brought in $1.4M toward UO’s budget for '16-17. They are "split 50/50" between the athletic department and the university. UO athletes "no longer have to use only Nike brand for several types of equipment, including bats and fielding gloves for baseball and softball, golf clubs and lacrosse sticks." If UO football or men’s basketball are "found to commit a 'major violation' of NCAA rules that results in a multi-year postseason ban or scholarship losses, Nike can get an automatic extension of the sponsorship deal at its then-value." The extension would be "for the same number of years as the NCAA’s punishment" (Eugene REGISTER-GUARD, 12/3).
