Starting this fall consumers will be able to purchase the authentic collegiate jerseys of legendary athletes featuring sports greatest names and numbers as they appeared on their alma matter’s uniforms. This new offering is the result of a collaboration between adidas America and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
The initial product offering will include authentic basketball and football throw-back jerseys featuring legendary athletes in the era they participated at the college level. “Great care will be taken to ensure the product’s authenticity by utilizing the same fabrics, treatments and embellishments as the jerseys worn in the years that the athletes were amateurs,” explained David Howitt, Director of Licensing and Business Development, adidas America.
“adidas is the authentic sports brand with a history with US Colleges that dates back over forty years,” stated Johnson. “When most of us players were in College there were only two brands in the market and adidas was one of them. It is exciting to re-introduce these authentic products to a new generation of adidas consumers.”
Both partners will be working very closely on everything from product development and distribution, to promoting the line and securing athlete partnerships. Magic Johnson is very involved in the project offering his services to access athletes, and promote the product. “Teaming up with Earvin Magic Johnson to bring authentic collegiate jerseys bearing the name and number of some of the greatest athletes ever allows adidas to further its goal of becoming the leading sports brand in the world,” commented Howitt.
“The popularity of authentic sports jerseys has been on the rise, but until now collegiate licensees have not been able to offer the jerseys on a national scale due to the complexity of manufacturing, licensing, sales, marketing and distribution,” explained Howitt. “Our partnership has positioned us to eliminate the barriers of entry to execute this program.”
