What we know (and don't know) about Auburn's move to Nike

Today's the day, as the Tigers officially end their deal with Under Armour and begin a 10-year contract with the biggest brand in sports.

AUBURN — Today is the beginning of a new era in Auburn athletics.

Tuesday, July 1, marks the official start of Auburn’s new apparel deal with Nike, ending a nearly two-decade relationship with Under Armour that started in 2006.

This has been a long time coming for plenty of people associated with the Tigers, either directly as players and staff members or just as fans.

After all, Auburn announced the 10-year deal with Nike nearly 15 months ago, with this past school year serving as the last under the former supplier. That has only built up the anticipation for the Tigers’ switch to the world-famous swoosh logo.

When Auburn starts competition this fall with the football, soccer and volleyball programs, they’ll be wearing Nike-branded uniforms. Teams going through summer training will make the switch, with Auburn senior long snapper Reed Hughes noting on Twitter a few days ago that the team just had its last workout in Under Armour.

Some Auburn fans might look at the move to Nike as no big deal, as it’s ultimately a change in aesthetics over anything that applies to wins and losses.

And there is some truth in that: Going with a new apparel partner isn’t going to magically change the Tigers’ on-field or on-court fortunes.

(There are also those who prefer Under Armour over Nike, from a personal taste standpoint. We’ll get into that later.)

But in the big business that is college athletics, the Nike move will have impacts for Auburn — particularly in football and men’s basketball, the two sports we cover the most here at The Observer.

With that in mind, let’s go through some questions and answers that subscribers might have about Auburn and Nike as the Tigers officially begin this new era today.

Why did Auburn end its partnership with Under Armour?

Let’s take you back to 2006, when Auburn and Under Armour first linked up.

Under Armour was the hot new brand in sports apparel, ready to take on cultural, decades-old global behemoths like Nike and Adidas. Under Armour started as a company that made a wide range of compression, moisture-wicking apparel. (Auburn players even wore some UA gear while it was still with Russell Athletic.) It later expanded into becoming the official brand of entire leagues and teams.

Kevin Plank, the founder of the company, was a special teams captain for Maryland football before starting Under Armour. In 2004, Maryland football started wearing Under Armour jerseys. But Auburn became the first big-name school to sign an exclusive, athletic department-wide deal with Under Armour. While Maryland would later get fully onboard with UA in 2009, Auburn was there in 2006.

As Under Armour continued to explode in popularity over the next several years, Auburn was a flagship school for the brand. Remember how popular “Click Clack” was?

While UA would eventually sign — and extend — Notre Dame, Auburn helped put it on a more prominent stage earlier. For example, when Auburn won the 2010 national title in football, it was a disruption of a Nike-heavy run on top of the sport. The Tigers also went to the Final Four twice under the UA deal.

When Auburn continued its deal with Under Armour with a nine-year extension in 2015, the contract was worth $78.2 million. That made it one of the richest deals in college athletics, as UA didn’t have as big of a portfolio of teams as Nike or Adidas. UA could invest more of their resources in keeping Auburn happy.

Part of that extension was $10 million in Under Armour stock. As Sportico noted last year, UA’s stock was at an all-time high briefly before Auburn signed the extension.

But, over the past decade, Under Armour has regressed — both from a business standpoint and a popularity standpoint. Last year, that stock was worth an estimated $1.4 million. Instead of surging ahead to compete directly with Nike and Adidas, Under Armour went backwards. The brand doesn’t have nearly as many global partnerships with teams and athletes as it did at its peak.

So, is Auburn’s move away from Under Armour to Nike about money? Not quite.