Under Armour will become the official supplier of Major League Baseball uniforms in 2019, a year earlier than previously scheduled.
Under the deal announced on December 5, 2017, Under Armour was set to replace Majestic Athletic as the exclusive MLB provider of all on-field uniform components beginning in the 2020 MLB season. The components included baselayer, game-day outerwear and year-round training apparel for all 30 MLB Clubs. At the same time, Fanatics was to be granted broad consumer product licensing rights to manage the manufacturing and distribution of Under Armour and Fanatics fan gear, which include jerseys at retail, name and number products and postseason apparel. Under Armour and Fanatics expect to offer an assortment of new fan gear apparel and accessories at retail, prior to the 2020 season.
The Associated Press reported that Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred said Thursday that fan apparel from Under Armour will be available in 2018 and that Under Armour will be used for dugout clothing during the 2018 postseason. The full switch to Under Armour for on-field apparel will take place for the 2019 season.
The news was confirmed by Under Armour. The company said in a statement released to the media, “Working closely with Major League Baseball, Under Armour is excited to accelerate our on-field debut of Under Armour uniforms and authentic gear for all 30 teams in 2019. We also look forward to engaging and exciting the league’s incredibly diverse fan-base around the world and distributing fan gear across various distribution channels in 2018. We are proud to outfit the players and fans with our innovative, best-in-class product that make all athletes better.”
Photo courtesy Under Armour
