Fanatics, a digital sports platform, has secured a long-term agreement with the US sportswear giant, Nike to create college sports gear.
Fanatics, Inc. is an American online manufacturer and reseller of licensed sportswear, sports collectibles, NFTs, trading cards, and sports goods. It is also associated with sports betting and iGaming.
The long-term agreement will make Fanatics, the company’s in-house apparel and manufacturing subsidiary. In addition, Fanatics will be appointed as the Nike fan gear and headwear licensee for a selected number of prestigious colleges and universities, starting in Summer 2024.
Nike, based in Beaverton, Oregon, has sponsorship arrangements with some of the country’s top athletics institutions. Several big institutions are expected to be involved in the Fanatics deal. According to a report by CNBC, Ohio State, Georgia, Clemson, Oregon, Oklahoma, and Penn State are among the colleges likely to be involved.
The products that Fanatics will design and manufacture include fan attire, replica jerseys, caps, sideline apparel, and women’s fan gear. The platform intends to offer larger varieties of high-quality, real-time Nike college products for fans and merchants.
Doug Mack, Chief Executive of Fanatics Commerce said, “We are proud to expand our long-standing partnership with Nike and implement our innovative vertical commerce model across their preeminent roster of universities. Our team is excited to maximise the value of Nike’s college partnerships by creating faster speed-to-market of fan gear through our agile supply chain, resulting in an expanded assortment of both timeless and on-trend Nike-branded merchandise for college fans and retailers everywhere.”