SMI Properties, the merchandise subsidiary of Speedway Motorsports Inc., has scored a two-year licensee extension with Duck Commander to continue selling the outdoor company’s wares at SMI’s various tracks, gift shops and other events.
The agreement with the Robertson family, which owns Duck Commander and has become nationally renowned through its “Duck Dynasty” show on A&E, now extends to 2016 after the original deal began in 2014. It also encapsulates Duck Commander’s Buck Commander brand and features an option to extend beyond 2016.
The deal grants apparel and hard-good rights to SMI Properties that allow it to sell and, in some cases, produce Duck Commander merchandise, including the famous duck- and buck-courting devices, trinkets and other hard goods, as well as women’s, men’s and youthwear that ranges from T-shirts and hats to outerwear and fleeces. SMIP produces special motorsports-related Duck Commander merchandise, and as part of the deal, the company gets the rights to exclusively sell that trackside.
SMI Properties also gets the rights to the images and likenesses of five of the TV show’s most famous members — Phil, Willie, Si and Jase Robertson as well as John Godwin — and the two sides are currently working on a further tie-in where one of those five will sign an endorsement with SMI.
“Let’s just say it’s been a good ride for both companies,” said Don Hawk, senior vice president of business affairs for SMI. “Obviously the reason you get an extension is if you perform. That’s definitely why we’ve entered a two-year extension early.”
Hawk said that Willie Robertson, the patriarch of the family, and Marcus Smith, CEO of SMI, have become friends since the two companies aligned, and the personal connection has helped maintain the business relationship.
The merchandise deal is separate from Duck Commander’s three-year agreement to title sponsor Texas Motor Speedway’s annual NASCAR Sprint Cup race that was signed last year. In January, Eddie Gossage, president of TMS, said that Duck Commander was in early talks to extend that deal as well, though he recently indicated those talks are on hold for now. The second year of the Duck Commander 500 occurs this weekend at TMS.
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