Why do we stay with Russell Athletic?

RyanS12

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I'm hoping for Nike for the brand recognition but I get the feeling it's Adidas and UA battle. If that's the case Adidas please. There boost shoes are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. Plus Adidas is really starting to make a comeback with shoes and apparel. "Cool factor". UA seems to be stagnant. I'm not opposed to them but they're a distant 3rd for me behind Nike and Adidas. But it's not my call so it doesn't matter what I think. Lol
 
GTFLETCH

GTFLETCH

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RyanS12 said:
I'm hoping for Nike for the brand recognition but I get the feeling it's Adidas and UA battle. If that's the case Adidas please. There boost shoes are the most comfortable shoe I have ever worn. Plus Adidas is really starting to make a comeback with shoes and apparel. "Cool factor". UA seems to be stagnant. I'm not opposed to them but they're a distant 3rd for me behind Nike and Adidas. But it's not my call so it doesn't matter what I think. Lol
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You may just be right... below is link from NC State about their Adidas extension.... They could not even get Nike to the table.. A Good Read..

Link
http://www.backingthepack.com/2016/7/27/12305978/nc-state-adidas-contract-apparel-nike-under-armour
 

RyanS12

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I get the feeling with Uga being Nike and just about every school around us being Nike minus auburn, S Carolina and Ga State (I guess) being UA schools and the fact the Adidas is pitting a huge facility just outside Atlanta might make us a little more enticing to Adidas.
 
AE 87

AE 87

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I really don't care too much about it, but being a priority for whoever matters.

Kentucky looks like blue TN.
UVA came out last year wearing Auburn unis.
 
jeffgt14

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Nike is the perennial safe bet though. I could be wrong but it seemed like Adidas was basically falling off the popularity map in every sport other than soccer until they nabbed James Harden. Under Armour is still relatively small. They are living off Curry and Cam so who knows where they’ll be when those contracts are up.
 
Silk3

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jeffgt14 said:
Nike is the perennial safe bet though. I could be wrong but it seemed like Adidas was basically falling off the popularity map in every sport other than soccer until they nabbed James Harden. Under Armour is still relatively small. They are living off Curry and Cam so who knows where they’ll be when those contracts are up.
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Curry, Cam, Bryce Harper, Speith, Brady ...pretty solid list
 

RyanS12

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Adidas has done a great job rebranding itself. They have the "cool" factor going again. They're a distant second to Nike but they've came with it in the last year with they're boost technology.
The shoes are almost impossible to get and run for around 200-225$ on the internet.
 
deeeznutz

deeeznutz

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GTFLETCH said:
So it looks like my Intel maybe correct, no company is banging on Tech's door. Hence when the GT/Russell deal was over (Bobblehead did not take an extension and told the world we were leaving Russell) No other companies came to Tech banging on his door, wanting to buy out the 2M dollar per year deal and outfit Tech..

What does this mean.... for the folks who think GT will sign a big 10M per year deal, it isn't going to happen....

At this point Tech may be lucky to get 2-3M per year.... Why?? Because Bobblehead already ruined our negotiations by telling the world we are leaving Russell without a deal in hand!! We may be begging for a 2M deal in 2018...we will see!!

So if Nike has offered us a deal much like WSU signed, than we may be able to get Adidas or UA to up their offer and we may get to 2-3M.... this would be a win as Tech would not lose any money, nor would they gain any money...but at this point if we do not lose any that is a win....but for everyone who thinks 5 Star recruits will all of a sudden sign because we are no longer with RA...they will be happy, until 5 Star recruits actually decide not to come to Tech and use another resets on besides RA as the excuse not to come.. then they may still be upset.. Who knows!!
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Not for nothing, but our fans are very much on the hook for Bobinski publicly announcing we were leaving Russell. If he had said "all options will be considered" or something like that to leave the door open for Russell (even if just lip service) our fans would have raised hell. A not insignificant portion of our fans have even wanted to buy out the remaining years even though we had no extra money to spend. Can't really blame the guy for announcing that one.
 

RamblinRed

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GTFLETCH said:
So it looks like my Intel maybe correct, no company is banging on Tech's door. Hence when the GT/Russell deal was over (Bobblehead did not take an extension and told the world we were leaving Russell) No other companies came to Tech banging on his door, wanting to buy out the 2M dollar per year deal and outfit Tech..

What does this mean.... for the folks who think GT will sign a big 10M per year deal, it isn't going to happen....

At this point Tech may be lucky to get 2-3M per year.... Why?? Because Bobblehead already ruined our negotiations by telling the world we are leaving Russell without a deal in hand!! We may be begging for a 2M deal in 2018...we will see!!

So if Nike has offered us a deal much like WSU signed, than we may be able to get Adidas or UA to up their offer and we may get to 2-3M.... this would be a win as Tech would not lose any money, nor would they gain any money...but at this point if we do not lose any that is a win....but for everyone who thinks 5 Star recruits will all of a sudden sign because we are no longer with RA...they will be happy, until 5 Star recruits actually decide not to come to Tech and use another resets on besides RA as the excuse not to come.. then they may still be upset.. Who knows!!
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whether MBob announced anything is irrelevant.
Russell was not going to renew the contract, period. They wanted out of the P5 market, GT is the only one left.
So announcing we were not going to re-sign with Russell didn't give away anything everybody didn't already know. GT will get a contract that is relative to its value and the market characteristics. I don't expect it to be some huge deal.

also, you keep misrepresenting what others are saying about how it will affect recruiting. 5 star players aren't going to line up at the door once we switch apparel companies. That is not how it works.
But I suspect GT will be able to get more easily into more households and talking to the right decision makers to get more kids favorable to them. GT signed just 5 four star players in the last 5 years (and one of those was never going to matriculate due to academics). For an ACC school, and one that sits in one of the top recruiting areas in the country, that is pathetic.
 

jacketjp

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Milwaukee said:
Nike at 1.5M/yr is 10x more valuable than Russell at 2M/yr. Weird math, but it's true.
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This. There is a lot more to the total value for Tech than the dollars in the apparel deal. According to a moron on another board, the ONLY thing that matters to our Athletic Department for this decision is the total dollar value of the deal. He was absolutely convinced that we would go back to Russell if they offered just $1 more in total reimbursement than Nike. He continued to argue that even after I provided links to articles quoting Stansbury recently and Bobinksi from 3 years ago both stating that we would be moving on from Russell.
 

YlJacket

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FYI - most of the "value" of an apparel deal is in "soft" dollars - the amount of stuff that company is sending to the college for their athletes to use. Not just uniforms but backpacks, travel suitcases, t shirts, work out clothes, shoes, etc. So in that context a deal for a school like UNC that has 30 teams is going to be bigger than a deal for a school like us that has 15 or so. No doubt kids like Nike stuff better than Russel stuff but don't think the numbers they announce are checks to the AA.
 

jacketjp

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YlJacket said:
FYI - most of the "value" of an apparel deal is in "soft" dollars - the amount of stuff that company is sending to the college for their athletes to use. Not just uniforms but backpacks, travel suitcases, t shirts, work out clothes, shoes, etc. So in that context a deal for a school like UNC that has 30 teams is going to be bigger than a deal for a school like us that has 15 or so. No doubt kids like Nike stuff better than Russel stuff but don't think the numbers they announce are checks to the AA.
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There is also significant value in terms of branding and exposure. Even if you hate Oregon's uniforms, consider how much national coverage have they gotten and how much discussion has been sparked about Oregon due to their deal with Nike? The problem for some black/white thinkers is that it's impossible to calculate the branding and exposure value so they just want to dismiss it, but I can guarantee that value is not lost on a smart AD.
 
GTFLETCH

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RamblinRed said:
GT signed just 5 four star players in the last 5 years (and one of those was never going to matriculate due to academics). For an ACC school, and one that sits in one of the top recruiting areas in the country, that is pathetic.
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I agree, I think the rub is with the solution... I do not think the fix is a new apparel contract.... I think the fix would be to have more athletic staff to recruit, increase Donor $upport! Of course all of this would start with the leadership!! It is gong to be silly to think an AD can fix all of the issues or lack of support that the GTAA has from the hill!!

Because I hold this opinion that is why I say we sign with the company (Nike, UA or Adidas) who offers the most $$$$!! Getting as much money as possible out of these contracts is crucial. Because of our small donor base, the school has to maximize revenue every way possible, especially since it finds itself currently in a yearly budget hole compared to other programs.

Even with the a new apparel deal I think we will still face the same challenges in recruiting that we always have, and we will find that GT will signed just 5 four star players in the next 5 years! I am sure the apparel deal will still be the quick fix, but truthfully the issues are bigger then the apparel deal and they always have been!
 
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