Bruins aggressively working towards apparel deal, sources say

The UCLA Bruins are reportedly ‘aggressively’ looking for a new apparel company to strike a deal with, reports say. According to 247Sports, who cites multiple sources, new Athletic Director Martin Jarmond is hard at work, actively pursuing a new apparel deal with multiple various companies, including Nike.

It’s reported that there are upwards of four companies that have shown interest in UCLA as well.

According to sources, UCLA could, too, consider a shorter-term deal, a “testing-of-the-waters” type of agreement with a new apparel company. Most companies, however, press for longer-term deals since it better mitigates the annual cost of the contract.

Of course, we all know why Jarmond was thrust into having to seek out a new apparel deal, after Under Armour made it clear back in June that they were seeking to terminate the record $280 million deal that they struck up back in 2016. Despite a contract run of 15 years, the Maryland-based apparel company is attempting to get out of the deal with the Bruins after just four full seasons of athletics.

The sources in the 247Sports article also state that UCLA has received an Under Armour delivery for the fall season, meaning they’ll be outfitted in some sort of UA apparel for the 2020 fall season, or whatever fall athletics we do get during the return of collegiate athletics amid a global pandemic.

However, it still remains unclear how much the Under Armour delivery it was and whether or not it was a full set enough to outfit the entire football team. It remains to be seen but belief around campus is that there should be enough equipment with what was delivered and what is leftover from the year prior to outfit all fall athletics for the 2020-21 athletic year.

That should at least buy Jarmond time to get a deal done with either one of the reported four apparel companies who have reciprocated interest in UCLA. The shorter team deal or the ‘testing water’ deal could come sooner than later, and could actually make for the best kind of deal during the coronavirus pandemic altered seasons we’re expected to see this fall.

Either way, it’s promising, and rather unsurprising, that there is reciprocal interest from apparel companies with UCLA. Highly likely the new deals won’t be near the monetary figures that the UCLA and Under Armour had, but still promising nonetheless.