Instant Alert: 'The bottoms of my shoes were starting to peel off': Athletes are reportedly ditching Under Armour shoes despite $280 million sponsorship deal

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'The bottoms of my shoes were starting to peel off': Athletes are reportedly ditching Under Armour shoes despite $280 million sponsorship deal

by Hayley Peterson on Feb 26, 2018, 4:24 PM

Some UCLA athletes are no longer wearing Under Armour shoes, even though the brand is the school's official sportswear sponsor, according to the Daily Bruin.
"Within the first few weeks, the bottoms of my shoes were starting to peel off and the outsides were starting to fray," sophomore jumper and sprinter Isaiah Holmes told the newspaper.
UCLA signed a $280 million deal with Under Armour in 2016 that made the brand its official shoe and apparel sponsor.
The 15-year deal was the biggest in college sports history.

Some UCLA athletes are ditching their Under Armour shoes less than two years after the school signed the biggest sportswear sponsorship in college sports history with the brand.

One member of the school's track and field team told the campus newspaper, The Daily Bruin, that his Under Armour shoes fell apart after several weeks of wearing them.

"Within the first few weeks, the bottoms of my shoes were starting to peel off and the outsides were starting to fray," sophomore jumper and sprinter Isaiah Holmes told The Daily Bruin.

Under Armour did not immediately respond to Business Insider's request for comment.

Another student, Kendall Gustafson, said that some athletes suffered Achilles injuries at the start of the season before switching to other shoe brands like Nike, Asics, and Adidas.

"You'll see a lot of the team wearing all the other Under Armour gear, but then you'll be seeing every other brand of shoes because we're just trying to find what works best for our feet," Gustafson, a senior heptathlete, told The Daily Bruin. "Under Armour is not traditionally a track shoe company."

She said the team's trainers have been in contact with the company to address some of the issues, and that the company is working with the team to develop a better track shoe.

UCLA signed a $280 million deal with Under Armour in 2016 that made the brand its official shoe and apparel sponsor. The 15-year deal was the biggest in college sports history.

Adidas was UCLA's official sportswear sponsor prior to the Under Armour deal.

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