[h1]ASU switching apparel from Nike to Adidas[/h1]
http://www.azcentral.com/story/spor...itching-apparel-from-nike-to-adidas/20476937/
"I can tell you (ASU) wasn't No. 1 or 2 or probably 3, 4 or 5 (out of 10 Nike schools in the Pac-12)," Anderson said.
That changed dramatically Tuesday with the announcement that ASU athletes and coaches will wear Adidas apparel, footwear and accessories through 2022-23. The eight-year contract, which starts in July 2015, is worth $33.8 million or $4,225,000 annually. That amount is double what ASU is receiving in equipment and cash for 2014-15 from Nike, and it is among the top 10 nationally per data compiled by the
Portland Business Journal.
"We've never been in that rarified air," said Anderson, who has been at ASU less than a year after leaving as the NFL's executive vice president of football operations. "We deserve to be there."
Not everyone agrees. ASU now is the fourth-most overpaid school in apparel sponsorship based on research by four sports business professors, behind Michigan, Kansas and UCLA, all Adidas schools. That study, based on 2013 predictor variables such as metro population, median income, TV households, conference affiliation, enrollment and number of athletes, puts ASU's annual apparel value of $1,996,000, close to the $2,110,000 it is receiving for 2014-15 from Nike.