Georgia Tech bought by Adidas

Yesterday's issue of The Washington Post included an article explaining that two Adidas officials (and an aspiring NBA agent) are on trial in a federal court in New York.  The men broke NCAA recruiting rules and allegedly defrauded the colleges recruiting a high school basketball player from Michigan (Will Hobson, "Any probes by NCAA will wait till trials end," Page D1, October 6, 2018).

The same day, I received the Fall 2018 issue of the Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine.  Its cover included the teaser: "Inside the deal with Adidas." An article by Tony Rehagen provided the following details: over six years, Adidas will provide a total of $17.46 million worth of apparel and $1.2 million cash.  (Adidas will give bonuses if the football team or men's basketball team appears in a championship game.)  According to the article, "college athletics is big business."

And that includes branding.  As part of the deal, Tech revamped the teams' uniforms (all featuring the Adidas logo), with a new color and new wordmark (here).  The football helmet has a new version of the GT logo.  The football team also got a renovated locker room that cost $4.5 million; of course, it features the Adidas logo also.

The men and women who play on these teams will also get workout gear to wear around campus.  But they won't be compensated when Adidas or Georgia Tech sells replicas of their uniforms to students and fans, because of NCAA rules.  The athletes' compensation is restricted by the NCAA, a cartel that exploits them and refuses to share the millions that it receives in various media and marketing deals (including deals for video games featuring players' likenesses, an issue in the O'Bannon lawsuit).  The players have no association to represent them; they have no power except the power to opt out (which some do, working in professional leagues without playing for college teams).  

Because of the NCAA, Adidas supposedly commits a crime when it gives money to high school athletes, but it is acceptable to give gear and money to the athletic departments who are recruiting and exploiting these athletes.  The trial in New York is about people who broke NCAA rules, but the NCAA is the guilty party.