The University of North Carolina (UNC) announced a a 10-year extension of its contract with Nike. UNC also for the first time revealed Nike’s contract terms with Roy Williams and other coaches.
All of the contracts, and a licensing agreement and labor standards agreements with Nike, are available on GoHeels.com.
Nike will remain the Tar Heels’ exclusive supplier of athletic footwear and apparel through June 2028. It is the third extension of a partnership that began in 1993. UNC is a Jordan school.
As part of the contract, a minimum of $600,000 per year — at least $6 million over the life of the contract — is guaranteed for licensing, which the University directs for need- and merit-based scholarships. That’s more than doubling the licensing guarantee of the previous contract with Nike. In addition, the University will receive $200,000 per year in retail product for non-athletic department use, and Nike will hire four student interns each year.
“We’re pleased to continue this long-standing partnership with Nike, which goes well beyond the direct benefits it provides to nearly 800 student-athletes each year,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “This extension makes even more funds and opportunities available to benefit our students in areas ranging from scholarships to internships and helps Carolina students across our campus.”
In an accompanying “Agreement Regarding Labor Standards and Corporate Social Responsibility,” the University and Nike also have again affirmed their commitment to fair labor practices.
Nike also has increased the amount of product – primarily uniforms, shoes and practice gear – it provides to Carolina Athletics. Additional funds will be used to support women’s sports initiatives, contracts and travel for international competition. All told, the value of the Nike contract exceeds $10 million per year.
“This contract isn’t just about supplying uniforms and equipment, but also about supporting student scholarships, internships and opportunities for the University of North Carolina,” said University of North Carolina, Director of Athletics Bubba Cunningham. “We are proud to extend our relationship with Nike and pleased that this agreement will help so many students.”
The university also signed an eight-year contract extension with Hall of Fame men’s basketball coach Roy Williams and a 12-year extension for the department with Learfield Communications. The contracts with coaches were made public for the first time.
“I’m grateful and humbled in the University’s continued faith in my leadership of the basketball program,” said Williams. “When I coached at Kansas my contracts with Nike and our media partner were private, and UNC respected and honored that for 15 years. However, times have changed and understanding the environment that college basketball faces now, Chancellor Folt, Bubba (Cunningham) and I agreed the correct and proper thing would be to disclose those terms.”
Williams is one of five UNC head coaches who have or will have personal service contracts with Nike. Williams, Anson Dorrance (women’s soccer), Mike Fox (baseball) and Sylvia Hatchell (women’s basketball) have signed contracts with Nike. Mack Brown (football) will also sign a personal service contract with Nike.
The University’s contracts with Brown, Fox, Hatchell and Williams also include compensation that originated from Learfield for work with Carolina’s multi-media rightsholder. The Nike contracts and compensation from Learfield are approved by Chancellor Folt and Cunningham.
In addition to signing a contract extension with Williams, Cunningham is announcing contract extensions for Dorrance, Fox, Jenny Levy (women’s lacrosse), Brian Kalbas (women’s tennis), Sam Paul (men’s tennis) and Carlos Somoano (men’s soccer), who each re-signed through 2023; and Coleman Scott (wrestling), re-signed through 2021.
Also, Joe Breschi (men’s lacrosse), Donna Papa (softball) and Joe Sagula (volleyball) signed multi-year contracts for the first time; each signed five-year contracts through 2023.
The 11 coaches who signed new contracts or extensions, which were also approved by the Board of Trustees, have a combined 239 years of experience as head coaches at Carolina.
