DEL.ICIO.USGeorgia Tech unveils new uniforms
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
If you walked into the posh Twelve hotel’s banquet room in Midtown on Tuesday, you probably thought the young people walking on stage were modeling Georgia Tech’s new athletic uniforms and casual wear.
That would be half right.
Ben Gray/bgray@ajc.com
Former and current players unveil Georgia Tech’s new ladies basketball uniforms. Russell will pay Tech $20,000 if it wins the ACC football title, $50,000 if it wins a BCS bowl game, or $100,000 should the Jackets be national champions. Other incentives relate to men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball.
The whole truth is that they were also showing off a new contract between Tech and Atlanta’s Russell Athletic that puts the Jackets in a much different financial and marketing place.
The deal is for 10 years and could be worth more than $20 million. The previous contract was for five years and $3 million. In addition, Tech will serve as a laboratory for new styles, designs and materials for Russell.
But this new deal goes way beyond apparel. It is in step with the exploding value of apparel sponsorships in college athletics, such as the new 10-year, $46 million deal between UConn and Nike.
Image matters more now, and selling stuff with a logo spreads the word.
“The idea of expanding the brand and getting more Georgia Tech merchandise out into the market was at the forefront,” Tech athletics director Dan Radakovich said after the fashion show. “Sure, we wanted to have the dollars and cents, and the product for our athletes.
“But at the same time we wanted a partner dedicated to using all their resources so we can increase brand awareness for both parties.”
As part of the partnership, Russell anointed Tech as its “Performance Institution,” or laboratory.
“They have real-life Division I student-athletes testing their product before they make investments in it,” Radakovich said.
Tech women’s basketball coach Machelle Joseph and her players helped Russell develop “racer-style” jerseys, which have become popular nation-wide.
“Tech is probably our premier relationship, and being in Atlanta the proximity allows us to develop things using their athletes,” said Russell executive vice president Gary Barfield. “We’re selling uniforms to high schools, and they see Tech wearing Russell unis.
“I don’t think any company expects a deal to pay for itself by selling merchandise, but what is the advertising and [public relations] worth?”
It can be worth many millions depending on details.
According to a copy of the contract obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Tech’s deal will net (as a nonprofit organization, the Georgia Tech Athletic Association in tax-exempt) $750,000 in cash per year from Russell for each of the next four years, increasing to $950,000 for each of the final two.
Plus, Russell will give Tech $1.1 million in athletic apparel (retail value) each of the next four years, ramping up to $1.35 million in each of the final two years. If Tech needs more gear, the Jackets will pay wholesale.
Tech will also get a wholesale price break on various equipment, $100,000 per year in apparel for camps and clinics, $100,000 a year in apparel for staff members, and two Russell internships per year for Tech student-athletes.
Russell will get various football, basketball and baseball tickets, continued advertising signage rights at Grant Field and Alexander Memorial Coliseum, parking passes, some use of Tech facilities for meetings and other perks.
There are incentives for Tech, too.
Russell will pay Tech $20,000 if it wins the ACC football title, $50,000 if it wins a BCS bowl game, or $100,000 should the Jackets be national champions. Other incentives relate to men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball.
“[Russell has] been a long-time partner, but they did not try take advantage of that partner status,” Radakovich said. “They stepped up and moved us into the upper echelon of the market with this new deal.”
