Russell Athletic has announced Georgia Tech as its own “Performance Institution” which basically means we will be to Russell what Oregon is to Nike. The deal is guess to be around $20million for 10 years of partnership. There are advantages and disadvantages to this new deal.
Disadvantages
Wearing Russell in General: I’ve seen Russell desperately try to grab their share of the athletic apparel market through various techniques. Unfortunately, the company has still lost its “cool” factor with the younger crowd. Nike and Adidas have the big name athletes who wear their apparel publicly. Russell does not have that yet. I’ve said it before in regards to uniform color: I DO NOT CARE how the jerseys look as long as we win. The same goes for who makes our uniform. I DO NOT CARE who makes our jersey as long as we win. I just have one request: Please make fan gear that is the same style as the uni’s. Don’t make me search high and low for something similar made by some other brand or whatnot. The best way for Russell to get back into the market is to make merchandise available to the FANS.
Change: Many fans of Georgia Tech do not like change. They had better be prepared for it if Russell has plans for Tech like Nike does with Oregon. It is possible for Oregon players to never wear the same combination twice. However, Nike also takes the input of the players for new ideas on uniforms (after all they are the ones wearing them) and that relationship seems to be solid from the outside. With Tech as the laboratory for Russell, the end result can be:
They have real-life Division I student-athletes testing their product before they make investments in it,” Radakovich said.
Competition: Could we have done better? We won’t ever really know that answer. But the article did mention a Nike contract with UCONN that was 10 years for $46 million
Advantages:
Financials: Money, Money, Money, Money. It’s what makes the world go ‘round and it’s what drives everything. We all know how David Braine left us in the red. This is DRAD’s way of getting us back on track financially and not totally relying on our season ticket sales and PSL’s. Hey, if Russell is willing to fork it out, let’s take it! The contract is bigger than we’ve ever had and it includes incentives such as:
Russell will pay Tech $20,000 if it wins the ACC football title, $50,000 if it wins a BCS bowl game, or $100,000 should the Jackets be national champions. Other incentives relate to men’s and women’s basketball, baseball, volleyball and softball.
Image: If all goes according to plan, a national image for both Georgia Tech and Russell Athletic can be created. What are the plans? Simple: It’s for Tech to win games and for Russell to market and build national recognition.
What are yall’s thoughts?
Filed under: Georgia Tech Football | Tagged: dan radakovich, Georgia Tech Football, georgia tech uniforms, russell athletic | No Comments »
