Why Notre Dame has a chance to usher in a new model of college apparel deal

SOUTH BEND, INDIANA - OCTOBER 15: Nana Osafo-Mensah #31 of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish celebrates a forced fumble against the Stanford Cardinal during the first half at Notre Dame Stadium on October 15, 2022 in South Bend, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
By Andy Staples
May 11, 2023

I bumped into an administrator from a Power 5 school last December at the hotel gym during one of those college sports muckety-muck conventions in Las Vegas. The administrator was wearing Lululemon at the time. “Can you get fired for that?” I asked.

No pictures, the administrator joked. But then they said something interesting. The entire industry is watching Adidas and Nike, because with Under Armour now pulling out of the college sports space after a fairly aggressive period of expansion, the three stripes and the swoosh are not expected to bid as ferociously when the next rounds of deals expire.

Advertisement

We’re about to see that tested with Notre Dame, which might be the most valuable individual brand in college sports. Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger reported Thursday that Notre Dame’s exclusive negotiating window with current supplier Under Armour has expired, and the privilege of making the Fighting Irish’s uniforms and related apparel is now on the open market.

Because of Notre Dame’s reach, you’ll probably see the best offers Adidas and Nike — or Jordan Brand, depending on which division of the company is in the running — can make. Whether that will be a huge bump over previous deals remains to seen. Under Armour bailing early on its 15-year, $280 million deal with UCLA in 2020 cooled the market considerably. (Under Armour wound up paying UCLA a $67.5 million settlement.) But Notre Dame should command some of the highest bids these companies can generate.

Yet because Notre Dame’s brand is so powerful, Fighting Irish officials might want to consider a slightly different arrangement designed with the name, image and likeness era in mind.

Do a deal that keeps one logo affixed to the uniforms but allows players to make their own shoe deals — just like NBA and NFL players get to do. Then use that as a recruiting tool.

Obviously, we all have our own ideas about which company Notre Dame should choose. Former Irish offensive lineman and current podcaster extraordinaire Mike Golic Jr. tweeted “time to form my Jordan Brand Prayer Circle” when he heard the news. I went in a direction the aforementioned administrator would endorse.

As someone whose podcast has been sponsored by Rhone and Rhoback, I also would heartily endorse their breathable, moisture-wicking, anti-stink, always-hold-up-in-the-wash garments. It was thinking about these companies — which make great clothes but don’t make shoes — that led to the realization that in the age of NIL, some smart athletic department is going to become the first that allows players to bring their own shoe deals. This could be especially helpful in basketball, but a possible first-round pick in football could command serious money, too. A third bidder also could drive up the price no matter what kind of deal the Irish make.

Advertisement

Let’s say Notre Dame took my advice and signed with Lululemon, which does make shoes but not for basketball or any sport that requires cleats. The Lululemon logo would appear prominently on all of the jerseys and pants of every Notre Dame team, but footwear would be covered by a separate deal. It’s here that Notre Dame could make a non-exclusive deal with Adidas or Nike for shoes. Even if it’s only a trade that allows the department enough product to outfit all the athletes who don’t have shoe deals (which would be most of them), that’s fine. But there might be some money to be made here as well. This would work just as well if Notre Dame went with Adidas or Nike for apparel.

The non-exclusive piece of the shoe deal means that if a top-10 basketball recruit wants to come to Notre Dame, that player can make a shoe deal prior to entering college. The shoe companies don’t have to wait, nor do they have to deal later with a flood of images of their player wearing a rival’s kicks. A football player could do the same, though it’s less likely that a player coming into college would command any sort of deal. A third-year football player who has excelled for two seasons at Notre Dame, however, could be a valuable brand ambassador as he approaches his final season and the pre-draft extravaganza.

Where this might be most valuable in the immediate future is women’s basketball. Of the football and men’s basketball players currently playing, USC quarterback Caleb Williams might be the only one who might be able to sell a signature shoe. But I guarantee there are legions of girls basketball players who would happily snap up the signature shoes of LSU’s Angel Reese or Iowa’s Caitlin Clark.

We watched this situation play out this spring when former Louisville star Hailey Van Lith transferred to reigning national champ LSU. Van Lith has an Adidas deal. LSU is a Nike school. Van Lith intends to keep the Adidas deal. She can wear the company’s products on her social media channels, and that makes her a valuable influencer for Adidas. But she’d be a lot more valuable if she didn’t have to wear Nike shoes along with her Nike uniform next season.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by HVL (@haileyvanlith)

NBA players must wear Nike (or Jordan Brand) uniforms, but their players association negotiated the freedom to wear any shoes they choose because shoe deals are so lucrative for that population. NFL teams have the same arrangement with their players. Colleges don’t have to collectively bargain with players (yet), but allowing for a similar system might make certain schools more attractive.

Advertisement

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick has been an enthusiastic supporter of NIL as it’s actually intended: endorsement deals for players rather than school-attached collectives paying for the players’ market value as athletes. We all knew the latter would happen if the schools didn’t have a way to get that money to players, but there are some programs with the brand power to leverage their popularity into more lucrative endorsement deals for athletes that truly are endorsement deals and not a salary. Notre Dame is one of those.

Giving athletes the option to make their own shoe deals could be a powerful recruiting tool, and it also could allow Swarbrick and company to feel more comfortable about the way their athletes interact with NIL.

Notre Dame historically has not allowed pure dollars and cents to drive its decisions. If money mattered most, the Irish would have joined the Big Ten at some point in the past 10 years. This is a case where Notre Dame is going to command a huge premium from some company no matter what it does. But by leaving some money on the table and allowing their athletes to turn their feet into billboards, the Irish could build a huge brand advantage.

(Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images)

Get all-access to exclusive stories.

Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. Try a week on us.

Andy Staples

Andy Staples covers college football and all barbecue-related issues for The Athletic. He covered college football for Sports Illustrated from 2008-19. He also hosts "The Andy Staples Show." Follow Andy on Twitter @Andy_Staples