Northwestern extends Under Armour deal through 2037

Pete Thamel had it first, and the NIL part is the piece that matters most in Evanston.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

Sources: Northwestern has extended its apparel deal with Under Armour for 10 years, with the deal expiring in 2037. The 10-year extension includes an increase in apparel, an uptick in investment and significant NIL opportunities for athletes.

This partnership has been around a while. Under Armour has dressed Northwestern since 2012, when the two sides signed a multiyear deal that took the Wildcats out of Nike. They already extended it once, in March 2025. Coming back for another 10 years tells you Northwestern thinks it got more out of this round than another stretch of uniforms. It got more gear and a bigger check, and it got NIL money that goes straight to the players.

That NIL piece is the whole game now. Northwestern is never going to win a bidding war on tradition or on the weather on Lake Michigan in November. So every dollar a brand will put toward paying players makes it easier for David Braun to keep his roster and fill it. An apparel company putting in more at a private school in the Big Ten that people usually call a basketball school, or an academic one, is a vote of confidence too.

Thamel also made it clear the apparel deal isn't a one-off. It's one piece of a bigger push.

Pete Thamel

@PeteThamel

The deal is part of a continued focus on athletics at Northwestern that includes a new $850 million stadium, a commitment to coach David Braun and an increase in giving highlighted by the $35 million donation by the Uihlein family.

The stadium is the headline item. The new Ryan Field, at $850 million according to Thamel, was privately funded through gifts from Northwestern alumni Pat and Shirley Ryan. Then came the Uihlein money in August: a $35 million commitment over 3 years from the family behind Uline, which the school says will go toward player development, recruiting and the program's operating priorities. The family isn't just writing checks from a distance either. Mac Uihlein, grandson of Uline founders Dick and Liz Uihlein, captained the Wildcats last season as a fifth-year linebacker.

Put it all together and Northwestern looks nothing like the school that used to get by on charm and a temporary lakefront setup. It has a new stadium, a coach it's sticking with, a donor family worth $35 million and now an apparel partner signed through 2037 that's putting more money into NIL. Nobody's handing them a Big Ten title for any of it. But for the first time in a while, Northwestern is spending like it plans to compete.

What to watch next is how much of that Under Armour NIL money shows up on the recruiting trail and in keeping players out of the transfer portal. Thamel's sources only call the opportunities significant and don't give numbers yet. If Braun can turn a better-funded program into wins at the new place, these 10 years could be the best stretch of the partnership.