Auburn Cements Under Armour Relationship With Massive Apparel Deal

Clint Richardson from the Auburn Uniform Database hinted a few weeks back that there may be news of a big apparel deal coming. Auburn's initial contract with Under Armour (negotiated by the wife of Gorgeous Al Borges) from 2005 was re-upped with a slight bump in 2010. That deal runs out in 2016, so the time was coming. Today the deal dropped, and Auburn has once again inked with the Maryland based company in a deal worth $78.1 million dollars through 2025.

One interesting aspect of the deal is the $10 million worth of Under Armour stock. That means the deal could potentially be worth even more if Under Armour's stock continues to rise. The apparel company has seen big strides lately with the success of Steph Curry in basketball, Cam Newton in football, and Jordan Spieth in golf.

The deal also provides much more in the way of perks for the non-revenue sports. So now all of Auburn's athletes will share more in the bounty of Under Armour goodies. With the increase in royalty rates for retail purchases, I would really love to see them sell things like those awesome sash soccer kits. I'd definitely buy one.

I, like many of you I'm sure, have lived in fear that Auburn would sell its soul to Adidas. Adidas is responsible for possibly some of the worst uniforms in all sports in recent years. Just look at their horrible baseball templates and the monstrosity of Angry Bird Laser Chicken that Louisville wore against Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.

I know a lot of you would rather Auburn have signed with Nike just because of the basketball recruiting ties, but I don't think that will be an issue, here. Bruce Pearl did quite well at Tennessee when they were an Adidas school. I think he'll do just fine at Auburn with Under Armour. Besides, Under Armour is growing in basketball. No, they're nowhere near where Nike is, but they're still growing. Plus with the addition of Notre Dame and the fact that Texas is about to hit the open market for an apparel contract, Under Armour's brand could grow even more over the next few years.

So keep protecting that house, Auburn fans. Auburn is going to be wearing Under Armour for quite some time.