South Carolina's Under Armour Renewal Marks 10th-Most Lucrative Deal In College Athletics

South Carolina's 10-year extension with Under Armour was officially signed on Friday, and at $71.5M, it is the "10th-most lucrative apparel deal in college athletics," according to David Cloninger of the Columbia STATE. UCLA recently signed a 15-year deal with UA at more than $18M annually, but there was "no haggling" from South Carolina to "try and get more from its contract after the UCLA deal was announced." South Carolina's deal is "rewarding in its signing bonus [$2M] and incremental increases through the life of the deal." The contract is $24.5M in rights fees and $44.5M in product allowance. Rights fees begin at $2M this year and "increase per year," with $4M in product allowance that increases by $100,000 each year. South Carolina's last deal "contained a four-year rollover clause, that would trigger" if UA and the school "each agreed to it when the contract expired." There "isn’t a similar clause in the new contract, although the Gamecocks are currently content to remain with the company after the 10-year deal closes." South Carolina AD Ray Tanner: “I guess you never say never, but I know our relationship has been very good and continues to be strong” (Columbia STATE, 9/28).