The four major professional sports leagues already count more than 30 apparel companies on their respective licensee lists, most of them well entrenched. And that takes into account the trend over the past several years in which the leagues (and colleges and universities to a degree) have cut the number of licensees in the category, focusing on the strongest and broadest deals.
In other words, apparel companies that hope to become NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, or collegiate licensees face a long and uphill road ahead, which may well turn out to be a dead end.
That said, a few apparel brands with distinctive looks have been able to forge a path with one or more of the leagues or with a group of universities. For instance:
- Forever Collectibles secured a license with all four leagues and a range of colleges for its millennial-skewing Ugly Christmas Sweaters.
- Peace Love World, from designer Alina Villansante, became a licensee of the NBA in 2014, pairing its trademark phrases and designs with team names and logos on fitted women’s t-shirts.
- Loudmouth, known for its bright patterns, became a licensee of nearly 60 universities, integrating the schools’ logos and colors into Loudmouth-style geometric designs on shorts, blazers, and golf pants.
These deals have two key things in common. First, the companies and their looks were firmly established before signing the property, rather than trying to use sports or collegiate licensing to build their business or differentiate them. Furthermore, their designs are unique enough that current licensees of the leagues and colleges could not replicate them, at least without treading on the fashion labels’ copyrights, trademarks, or trade dress.
Few prospective sports licensees in the apparel category possess both of these characteristics. But these examples show that the leagues and universities might open the door to those that do.
Comments are closed.