Under Armour Stomps on Nike's College Football Turf
*By Michael Teich*
The College Football Playoff hasn't even kicked off, but Under Armour is already a winner.
For the first time since the final four-structured championship began in 2014, a non-Nike brand is sponsoring one of the teams that made the playoffs.
This year, that team is Notre Dame and Under Armour is the sponsor.
Under Armour may have stolen a final four sponsorship from Nike, but Nike still has a strong grip on the sport at the college level. Following the selection made by the College Football Playoff committee on Sunday, 19 of the 20 teams that have made the college football playoff since it began in 2014 have featured the Nike swoosh on their jerseys.
Unless there is a power shift, it does not appear that Nike's reign will come to an end anytime soon, as familiar names continue to dominate the championship. Alabama has been in all five playoffs, Clemson has been selected for four in a row, and Oklahoma has made its way into the top four three times.
Beyond Notre Dame, which switched from Adidas to Under Armour in 2014, no other non-Nike branded team was close to being selected for the playoff. Out of the top 25 ranked teams, 21 were sponsored by Nike ($NKE), two by Under Armour ($UAA), and two by Adidas ($ADDYY). The highest-ranked non-Nike school was Utah, which was rated the 17th best team in the nation.
Nike dominance is not limited to college football. The sports retailer had its logo emblazoned on the jerseys of three of four teams in college basketball's 2018 final four, and is the sponsor of eight of the last 10 champions. Nike also scored big during the 2018 World Cup when both France and Croatia entered the championship wearing the swoosh.
Roomba maker iRobot has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but says that it doesn’t expect any disruptions to devices as the more than 30-year-old company is taken private under a restructuring process. iRobot said that it is being acquired by Picea through a court-supervised process. Picea is the company's primary contract manufacturer. The Bedford, Massachusetts-based anticipates completing the prepackaged chapter 11 process by February.
Serbia’s prosecutor for organized crime has charged a government minister and three others with abuse of position and falsifying of documents related to a luxury real estate project linked to U.S. President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner. The charges came on Monday. The investigation centers on a controversy over a a bombed-out military complex in central Belgrade that was a protected cultural heritage zone but that is facing redevelopment as a luxury compound by a company linked to Kushner. The $500 million proposal to build a high-rise hotel, offices and shops at the site has met fierce opposition from experts at home and abroad. Selakovic and others allegedly illegally lifted the protection status for the site by falsifying documentation.
Wealthfront’s CFO Alan Iberman talks the $2.05B IPO and the major moment for robo banking as the company bets on AI, automation, and “self-driving money."
A rare magnum of Dom Pérignon Vintage 1961 champagne that was specially produced for the 1981 wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana has failed to sell during an auction. Danish auction house Bruun Rasmussen handled the bidding Thursday. The auction's house website lists the bottle as not sold. It was expected to fetch up to around $93,000. It is one of 12 bottles made to celebrate the royal wedding. Little was revealed about the seller. The auction house says the bids did not receive the desired minimum price.
The New York Times and President Donald Trump are fighting again. The news outlet said Wednesday it won't be deterred by Trump's “false and inflammatory language” from writing about the 79-year-old president's health. The Times has done a handful of stories on that topic recently, including an opinion column that said Trump is “starting to give President Joe Biden vibes.” In a Truth Social post, Trump said it might be treasonous for outlets like the Times to do “FAKE” reports about his health and "we should do something about it.” The Republican president already has a pending lawsuit against the newspaper for its past reports on his finances.
OpenAI has appointed Slack CEO Denise Dresser as its first chief of revenue. Dresser will oversee global revenue strategy and help businesses integrate AI into daily operations. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently emphasized improving ChatGPT, which now has over 800 million weekly users. Despite its success, OpenAI faces competition from companies like Google and concerns about profitability. The company earns money from premium ChatGPT subscriptions but hasn't ventured into advertising. Altman had recently announced delays in developing new products like AI agents and a personal assistant.
