Mark Snyder

Detroit Free Press

It was dramatic when Michigan announced its new agreement with Nike in July 2015.

The details of the massive contract emerged — at the time, potentially 15 years for $169 million, the highest in college apparel history – and it was expected to follow every other apparel deal and quietly fade away.

Since Jim Harbaugh arrived, though, nothing goes quietly.

A few weeks later, on Aug. 13, Michael Jordan made an eight-second video declaring: “I want to welcome my first football team to the Jordan family: Go Blue.”

Sunday night, 50 weeks after that, U-M’s debut as the Jordan Brand’s first football program becomes reality after years of being primarily for college basketball teams and individuals in other sports.

And the Michigan fan base is salivating in anticipation.

The athletic department and the officially licensed store, the M Den, have built the hype for two weeks, releasing images of various clothing items each day online.

Sunday night, as the Adidas contract expires at the end of July 31 and Nike becomes official Aug. 1, there will be a block party at the M-Den’s flagship store on State Street next to U-M’s campus beginning at 10 p.m. and the store opening with the new gear at midnight.

Then on Tuesday, the official Jordan Brand uniforms — which may look like the images leaked Friday on Reddit — will be revealed at a private event, then sold Aug. 6 at M Den locations.

Nike matters but the Jordan Brand is the key connection, pushed even harder after U-M’s Nike contract was dwarfed by Texas, then Ohio State.

Those schools may be getting more money but Jordan (the brand and the man, who will be U-M’s honorary captain on Sept. 3 vs. Hawaii) chose Michigan.

“It’s Michael Jordan,” U-M cornerback Jourdan Lewis said. “Especially you being a first of somebody’s franchise program or a program that’s primarily one sport, it’s special. It’s history-making and I’m happy I can experience it.”

Lewis said he saw the jerseys but wouldn’t reveal his thoughts.

To these players, Jordan himself is more myth than reality.

His second retirement began after the 1998 season, ending his peak performance, so nearly all of the current players were in diapers or not even born to see him shine.

But the legend is now more about the shoes and the gear.

“The Jordan Brand is highly praised now, especially with the younger generation,” U-M receiver Amara Darboh said. “I think that’s because of the type of player Michael Jordan was, very competitive, to make a name for himself as the best basketball player of all-time. People like to follow greatness and support greatness and that’s one of the things we’re excited to represent the Jordan Brand this year.”

The lasting impact may not be clear for years, if recruits say it helped sway them or merchandise sales spike — beyond this insane first month.

Contact Mark Snyder at msnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder.

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