Mark Snyder

Detroit Free Press

After nearly 10 months, the Michigan athletic department formally has signed with Nike.

The sides had a smaller-term sheet agreement last summer -- when a deal initially was revealed -- but U-M today announced a final signed contract that could total $173.8 million if a four-year option is extended after the current 11-year deal.

The 11-year term is worth $127.12 million --- $53.52 million in cash payments, $56.8 million in apparel and a $12-million signing bonus/initial payment that was scheduled to be paid 10 days after the contract was signed March 16. There also is an option for U-M to order an additional $4.8 million in apparel not included in the yearly totals.

The contract, which covers 31 U-M sports, was signed by athletic director Warde Manuel on his third day in the position.

The $173.8 million is slightly higher than $169-million total the school revealed last summer and would cover the period through 2031 if the deal is extended by Michigan.

Michigan will leave its current apparel company, Adidas, at the end of July. The Nike contract begins Aug. 1.

When the Nike agreement was announced last summer, it was presented as the biggest contract between a school and a shoe/apparel company, but Texas (15-year, $200-million extension) and then Ohio State (15-year, $252-million extension) reportedly reconfigured their deals with Nike and since have passed the Wolverines.

Here's the breakdown of U-M's terms in the 34-page contract:

• There are performance bonuses for the football, men's basketball and women's basketball teams. The football team's range from $100,000 for winning the national championship to $10,000 for reaching the Big Ten title game. The basketball team's top bonus is $25,000 for winning the national title. The women's team can earn up to $7,500 for winning the national title.

• Nike will pay U-M a royalty of 15% of net sales on non-footwear apparel and 5% on footwear. U-M will receive no less than $18.37 million in royalties over the 11-year term (or $25.05 million in the 15-year deal).

• Use of the Jumpman brand for basketball and football, which will make U-M the first Jumpman football program in the country. Other programs beyond football and the basketball teams can be outfitted with Jumpman/Jordan Brand footwear and apparel if that exists at another current Nike school. But it must be requested a year in advance.

• The coaches of the flagship programs (football, men's and women's basketball) have to make two appearances on behalf of Nike each year. Other coaches must make one each year.

• Collaborating on innovation in sports technology, a pitch that intrigued former U-M interim athletic director Jim Hackett, who laid the groundwork for the deal.

• Three U-M student internships at Nike headquarters each summer.

• Nike receives a suite for each football game and a box for basketball, plus in-game public address ads and full-page ads in every game program. Nike also receives an allotment of tickets at home and away games for football, men's and women's basketball, plus Big Ten and NCAA postseason play.

• U-M could be penalized during the agreement for a few reasons. Game-to-game, it could come if there is any "polishing out, spatting or taping" of the logo, which would result in a potential devaluation of up to $100,000 per game.

• If U-M's football or men's basketball programs are sanctioned by the NCAA for a major violation resulting in the loss of multiple scholarships or a postseason ban, Nike can extend the contract for as many years as the penalty lasts.

• Nike must adhere to the Nike Code of Conduct regarding labor standards, including a list of factories where the products are made, for external monitoring.

• U-M will have to decide whether to exercise the option by May 15, 2026, 13 months before the end of the deal.

• Many of U-M Olympic sports have existing agreements with third-party suppliers, and those are allowed to continue.

OSU's Lee rips on U-M after Nike move

Contact Mark Snyder atmsnyder@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter at @mark__snyder. Download our Wolverines Xtra appon iTunesandAndroid!