TTUS Board of Regents give initial nod to Texas Tech, adidas athletic contract
A "cutting-edge deal" between Texas Tech Athletics and sports apparel brand adidas is one step closer to coming to fruition after the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents unanimously agreed for Tech Athletics to enter into negotiations with the brand.
During the board's regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday in Lubbock, Texas Tech Athletics Director Kirby Hocutt said that the athletics department has had a strong relationship with Under Armour for the past two decades.
"They have been a terrific partner to make sure that (student-athletes) have had the best gear for training and competition," he said.
However, the contract with Under Armour is set to expire in June of 2024 and within the contract, a paragraph allowed Tech to seek other opportunities for other brands earlier this fall.
"We had agreed in principle with adidas to outfit all of our students and our teams," Hocutt said.
There are final details to be negotiated between the university and the sports brand with the anticipated date of July 1, 2024, for the contract to be in effect.
Hocutt said the contract couldn't have come together without help from former Tech athletes such as PGA golfer Ludvig Åberg and NFL quarterback Patrick Mahomes II.
"Both of them were instrumental in getting this deal agreed to in principle," he said. "Patrick has been beside us and in front of us every step of the way."
More: Hocutt credits Texas Tech football great Patrick Mahomes as key player in adidas deal
What we know about the adidas and Texas Tech contract
Hocutt said the contract's length will be for a decade and that there is a Name, Image, and Likeness deal for the student-athletes.
Even though it hasn't been made public how much this contract will be, according to the TTUS Agenda Book, this contract is greater than $5 million dollars; therefore, it needed the regents' approval for the amount and length of time for the contract.
The monetary gain the university will see from the potential adidas partnership will be significant from the contract with Under Armour, Hocutt said, with there being "unique facets" that have been agreed to in principles for uniform design and drops.
According to a TTUS spokesperson, this is the first and last time the board will discuss this topic, leaving the finalization of the contract in the hands of the president of Texas Tech and the athletic director.
"It's an enhanced investment into Texas Tech Athletics both from an apparel situation as well as a marketing and cash situation," he said.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Regents give initial nod to Texas Tech, adidas athletic contract
