Under Armour/Fanatics Get the MLB Jersey Contract

[mjd77]

1 hour ago, MJWalker45 said:

They'll probably turn into an outfit like Starter.

 

That did cross my mind.  Starter has Wal-Mart, Champion has Target, and who knows where Majestic could end up if they become totally irrelevant.

[aawagner011]

Won't happen but I would much prefer if Under Armour put its script logo on the bottom of the sleeves rather than the large and square looking UA logo. Would be a good bit more subtle. Anything besides the logo on the chest, please!

 

 

Really have to see see how this turns out before I judge. Other than some tech advancements, Majestic has been great for MLB and never tried to rock the boat. They did a great job at quality and were very traditional.

 

If UA can introduce the heathered gray away jerseys and perhaps some other unique textured patterns, that would be awesome.

 

If they can stay away from the massive mesh panels under the arms (the contrasting BP panels were the worst), even better.

[MJWalker45]

1 hour ago, mjd77 said:

 

That did cross my mind.  Starter has Wal-Mart, Champion has Target, and who knows where Majestic could end up if they become totally irrelevant.

They could sign contracts with multiple stores, I don't see them as a brand that could afford to be exclusive. 

[guest23]

52 minutes ago, MJWalker45 said:

They could sign contracts with multiple stores, I don't see them as a brand that could afford to be exclusive. 

 

Majestic is a subsidiary of the massive apparel giant VF corp. VF has the resources to offer UA type deals, but are more focused on profitability of each division like Vans, Nautica etc. Since the Majestic brand was so dependent on the mlb license for their profits they simply cannot afford to take on these loss leader deals that ua and nike do because they don't have other profit engines like shoes. Majestic's future is likely murky as the brand will have to go into downmarket sportswear as others have said, be sold on the cheap, or shut down.

 

Edit: If you read the article which I just did, Majestic had no ability to put forward a meaningful bid as VF has had them on the sales block since March. Assuming they have not found a buyer and the fact that they are up for sale they were not able to turn much of a profit, if any of the mlb license.

 

Edit 2: This fanatics vertical concept has potential logistics disaster written all over it and puts them in major conflict if they are going to have to supply their competitors. Also scaling up this size of an operation as a 100% in house effort is a major risk on so many levels. Good luck to them.

[GriffinM6]

After thinking about this and looking at some UA college teams, this actually doesn't seem like a bad deal. Teams need to lay their foot down when going through the transition though. 

[BRice16]

6 hours ago, Thomas said:

Sounds horrible, i doubt they can do as good a job as Majestic does.

Where will they find the people to do those authentic jerseys that are being sold to fans now, that are exacly the same as the players use.

I fear there will be differences from what the players wear to what the fans can buy.

 

I'm almost certain that this deal will end the tradition of the fan authentic jerseys being the exact same product as what's on the field. 

 

If I had to speculate, it will be similar to the current Nike NFL setup where the on-field and authentics use the exact same materials, but the on-field jerseys are manufactured in the USA and the retail jerseys will be mass-produced overseas. We'll see, I know some teams were concerned about that. 

[RyanMcD29]

After seeing what UA's done in college sports (one-off alts aside) and with Tottenham in soccer, I think the MLB's in good shape with them at the helm. They've been really good at keeping traditions intact and if they do modernize things, it's done thoughtfully and well.

[Bmac]

The following information was passed on to me almost a year ago, and I'm really not supposed to share it. I also have no way of confirming it, other than trusting the word of someone in retail who has always given me accurate information. I was told...

 

The Diamondbacks recent rebrand was outsourced to Under Armour by Major League Baseball. While Majestic still technically produced their uniforms, UA was hired to help design them.

 

Take that as you will.

[BRice16]

23 minutes ago, Bmac said:

The following information was passed on to me almost a year ago, and I'm really not supposed to share it. I also have no way of confirming it, other than trusting the word of someone in retail who has always given me accurate information. I was told...

 

The Diamondbacks recent rebrand was outsourced to Under Armour by Major League Baseball. While Majestic still technically produced their uniforms, UA was hired to help design them.

 

Take that as you will.

 

The sublimation technique used on the new Arizona uniforms came from Under Armour. Not sure if they actually designed them, but they had a hand in those disasters.

[mjd77]

24 minutes ago, Bmac said:

The following information was passed on to me almost a year ago, and I'm really not supposed to share it. I also have no way of confirming it, other than trusting the word of someone in retail who has always given me accurate information. I was told...

 

The Diamondbacks recent rebrand was outsourced to Under Armour by Major League Baseball. While Majestic still technically produced their uniforms, UA was hired to help design them.

 

Take that as you will.

 

Even if that were true, there certainly had to be people in the Arizona organization who could have rejected those hideous looking things and told the designers to try again.

[Thomas]

6 hours ago, BRice16 said:

 

I'm almost certain that this deal will end the tradition of the fan authentic jerseys being the exact same product as what's on the field. 

 

If I had to speculate, it will be similar to the current Nike NFL setup where the on-field and authentics use the exact same materials, but the on-field jerseys are manufactured in the USA and the retail jerseys will be mass-produced overseas. We'll see, I know some teams were concerned about that. 

Right, if it means authentic does not really mean on field authentic, then it´s truly terrible. Like the indo edge jerseys in the NHL. Today it´s very difficult to get the real NBA, NFL, NHL jerseys with correct customizing, MLB jerseys on the other hand, there you get the real game jersey. I hope that continues and these two companies make sure of it. But as you said, i am worried as well

 

[Bouj]

10 hours ago, mjd77 said:

 

Even if that were true, there certainly had to be people in the Arizona organization who could have rejected those hideous looking things and told the designers to try again.

Correct.  And as it's been reported many times over, the players had a hand in this too.  They actively gave feedback.  They LIKE the D-Backs' look.

 

Before anyone has a full-on panic attack over potential redesigns, remember the "panic" over the NFL/Nike contract.  Aside from the jersey cuts and alternates, most everyone still looks more or less the same.  Conservative billionaire businessmen didn't decide to blow up their teams' visual identities.  Expect the same from this.  MLB is even more stuck with tradition.  If anything, all you'll get is more fauxback grey flannel colored road sets.

[Thomas]

55 minutes ago, Bouj said:

Correct.  And as it's been reported many times over, the players had a hand in this too.  They actively gave feedback.  They LIKE the D-Backs' look.

 

Before anyone has a full-on panic attack over potential redesigns, remember the "panic" over the NFL/Nike contract.  Aside from the jersey cuts and alternates, most everyone still looks more or less the same.  Conservative billionaire businessmen didn't decide to blow up their teams' visual identities.  Expect the same from this.  MLB is even more stuck with tradition.  If anything, all you'll get is more fauxback grey flannel colored road sets.

Although  : 

Brightman, a former vice president of corporate sales and sponsorship for the Baltimore Orioles, said the deal could help lure additional star players in the league to Under Armour endorsement deals.

Major League Baseball stands to benefit, too, by affiliating with a brand with strong recognition and customer loyalty, Brightman said.

The league is "always looking to get younger, to grow their fan base," he said. "Under Armour is certainly cool with that millennial generation, whereas a company like Majestic has less brand recognition."

While it's too early to tell how or if uniform designs might change, he said, it's possible that some teams, especially small-market teams, might be more open to new looks the brand might propose.

"This gives an opportunity to have uniforms stand out and sell more jerseys," he said. "There are a lot of wins here."

.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/business/under-armour-blog/bs-bz-under-armour-mlb-uniforms-20161017-story.html

 

[BC985]

I am not convinced that a switch to UA will automatically result in new crazy uniform designs, individual teams still have a lot of control over the final look. That doesn't mean a few teams won't based off UA suggestions, but the sky isn't falling. I think the most notable

for sure design input will come via BP jerseys. 

 

I won't be sad to see Majestic go. Cool Base and Flex Base have been disasters, and were often ridiculed on this site. I'm looking forward to what UA brings to the table. 

[Around the Horn]

12 hours ago, Bmac said:

The following information was passed on to me almost a year ago, and I'm really not supposed to share it. I also have no way of confirming it, other than trusting the word of someone in retail who has always given me accurate information. I was told...

 

The Diamondbacks recent rebrand was outsourced to Under Armour by Major League Baseball. While Majestic still technically produced their uniforms, UA was hired to help design them.

 

Take that as you will.

[crashcarson15]

As someone who goes to a school whose alums and administrators orgasm at the sound of the word “tradition,” and whose teams are outfitted by Under Armour, I wouldn’t be too worried.

[AstroCree]

I didn't realize the Cool Base uniforms were that much disliked. While the positioning of the vents are questionable, I liked the cool/flex base uniforms. They were much more comfortable to wear in the summer.

[OnWis97]

54 minutes ago, crashcarson15 said:

As someone who goes to a school whose alums and administrators orgasm at the sound of the word “tradition,” and whose teams are outfitted by Under Armour, I wouldn’t be too worried.

They're gonna wanna do something to make their presence felt.

 

First off, the days of the not-too-noticeable sleeve logo are going to be over.  I hope it's on the sleeve, but my money's on upper-chest (like the All America photos above).

 

Some non-traditional elements we may fear will not happen.  The Yankees are not going to be wearing a Maryland-inspired alternate.  But it'll be interesting to see how many non-Deadball-era teams go a little "out there."  Maybe not many.  But also how many alts we get; then again that cannot get much worse.  Maybe we'll be seeing the death of block numbers for most teams.  And we'll see how the "performance" features impact the looks.

 

I also went to a school that just got under-armor and has thus far not gone crazy.  The "Forward" theme is subtle; they may try to do a couple of things like that.

 

Hopefully my fears turn out to be largely un-founded but I certainly felt great about Majestic's low profile.

[VDizzle12]

3 hours ago, Bouj said:

Before anyone has a full-on panic attack over potential redesigns, remember the "panic" over the NFL/Nike contract.  Aside from the jersey cuts and alternates, most everyone still looks more or less the same.  Conservative billionaire businessmen didn't decide to blow up their teams' visual identities.  Expect the same from this.  MLB is even more stuck with tradition.  If anything, all you'll get is more fauxback grey flannel colored road sets.

 

I'm thinking the same thing. Baseball is one sport that can't really stray too far from tradition anyway. Aside from the DBacks, most teams have very simple designs. That being said I think that since it's such a long season, I wouldn't mind seeing some cool alternates added throughout the season. Have to think they would love to do something with the Maryland flag for the O's. 

[dsaline97]

14 hours ago, Bmac said:

The following information was passed on to me almost a year ago, and I'm really not supposed to share it. I also have no way of confirming it, other than trusting the word of someone in retail who has always given me accurate information. I was told...

 

The Diamondbacks recent rebrand was outsourced to Under Armour by Major League Baseball. While Majestic still technically produced their uniforms, UA was hired to help design them.

 

Take that as you will.

I thought it was outsourced to Nike? This quote is from the team president at the time the uniforms were released:

 

"“The Arizona Diamondbacks have always been focused on innovation and it is time for us to take that step forward on behalf of Major League Baseball and continue the evolution of our uniforms. This process began over two years ago and has involved our players, coaches, fans, partners at MLB, Majestic, New Era, Nike and an extremely talented in-house design staff."