When I wrote this about a year and a half ago Under Armour had barely dipped its toes into the sporting equipment water. Their shoe line was in its infancy, their lax and baseball cleats were brand new, their soccer cleats were a mere twinkle. Most importantly, they had yet to sign the man that has become their poster boy in the literal sense.
Already sponsoring a number of NCAA Division I lax teams, Under Armour made a deal with Alleson Athletic to make their stylish uniforms available for youth, high school, and club teams over the summer. This deal should also lead to replica football and lax jerseys being available sooner rather than later. Once this happens, UA's share of the sportswear market will surely skyrocket.UA also secured its first professional soccer kit deal with Hannover 96.
The company is also outfitting the national rugby union team of Wales.
They continue to steal NCAA programs from Nike (helped by the Alleson deal).
I mentioned Maverik as a potential acquisition or partner should UA decide to begin making lax gear. Interestingly enough, Rabil endorses that company as well. But that might be a mere coincidence, right? Under Armour may make great apparel and sick shoes, but they are no where near ready to slap their logo on gear, right? Wrong.
Under Armour has released a line of baseball catcher equipment. Included are chest protectors, shin guards, traditional & hockey style masks, and batting gloves. From what I can gather, the catcher gear is made under license by All Star.
Does this baseball equipment truly suggest that UA may move into other equipment markets? I think it does. I can easily see a similar deal being made with Maverik Lacrosse. It would not be too terribly dissimilar to the deal between Nike and STX...
