Nike and Fanatics ink college sports apparel deal
Nike
As part of the agreement, as of summer 2024, Fanatics will begin manufacturing most of Nike’s fan apparel for many of its most prominent college partners.
In particular, Fanatics will design and manufacture fan apparel, replica jerseys, headwear, sideline apparel and women’s fan gear. The deal is expected to include a select group of Nike’s college and university partners, such as Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Penn State.
”We are proud to expand our longstanding partnership with Nike and implement our innovative vertical commerce model across their preeminent roster of universities,” said Doug Mack, Fanatics commerce CEO and Fanatics Holdings vice chair, in a news statement.
“Our team is excited to maximize the value of Nike’s college partnerships by creating faster speed-to-market of fan gear through our agile supply chain, resulting in an expanded assortment of both timeless and on-trend Nike-branded merchandise for college fans and retailers everywhere.”
Currently, Fanatics manufactures and distributes Nike fan gear for the National Football League and Major League Baseball. Most recently, Fanatics also inked a deal to produce co-branded Topps trading cards with athlete and school marks and a custom college jersey program with OneTeam Partners.
In March, Fanatics raised $1.5 billion in new financing, valuing the U.S. sports platform at $27 billion.