Forbes: Syracuse Has NCAA’s 35th-Most Valuable Sports Apparel Deal

Forbes recently ranked the most valuable sports apparel deals in college athletics, and Syracuse comes in at 35th out of the 65 schools tracked.

On average, the Orange bring in about $3 million per year from Nike. This seems like an awful lot of money, but really when it comes down to it, it is very much in the middle of the pack.

Surprisingly, UCLA comes in at No. 1 with a yearly intake of about $18 million from Adidas. Rounding out the top five are Ohio State (Nike) with $16.8 million per year, Texas (Nike) with $16.7 million per year, Michigan (Nike) with $15.7 million per year, and Wisconsin (Under Armor) with $9.6 million per year.

Syracuse’s deal ranks them 10th in the ACC, with the majority of the lower-tier teams coming from the Pac-12.

Much to the delight of some Syracuse fans, the team with the cheapest deal among the power conference teams tracked is Rutgers (Nike). They earn about $1.4 million per year.

This is important because as we’ve seen in the past, a team’s apparel can affect recruiting and the University’s image. It is important for the companies to be represented because their logo is constantly being shown during a basketball or football game that is broadcast world wide on ESPN or another network.

Former Syracuse AD Darryl Gross wanted to improve the school’s #BRAND, which would’ve, relating to their contract with one of these sports apparel brands. Maybe new Syracuse AD, John Wildhack can pick up where Gross left off and can get the Orange a better contract with these companies.