Andy Murray Signs new £15m kit deal
Andy Murray has signed a four-year kit deal, believed to be worth in the region of £15m, with the US-based sportswear company Under Armour, which makes the shirts for Tottenham Hotspur and is keen to expand into the British market. The 2013 Wimbledon champion will wear Under Armour’s apparel, footwear and accessories during competitions and will feature in marketing campaigns for the company, which is based in Baltimore. “I am very honoured and excited to be joining Team Under Armour and to help them tell their story globally,” Murray said. “They are committed to providing innovative apparel, accessories, and footwear, with an unmatched focus on training and performance.”
Under Armour’s biggest challenge will be to satisfy Murray’s finicky taste in shoes. He has always been concerned about the danger of sprains and twists, which is why he wears heavy supports on both ankles, and is likely to demand customised footwear with the most precise specifications. Murray’s Adidas deal earned him a healthy £15 million over five years but is outshone by the figures posted by Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic. The respective values of those giant kit deals stands at $140 million (£89 m) for Federer over 10 years, courtesy of Nike, and $40 million (£25 m) over five years for Djokovic, half of which is his reward for wearing Uniqlo, the other half for serving as a brand ambassador.
Rafael Nadal is also on big money with Nike, who were intending to return him to his old sleeveless-shirt look in New York this autumn, had he been fit to compete.
Murray will be in Miami for a while yet, as part of a 2½-week training block that he hopes will prepare him for January’s Australian Open. He has taken two of the leading British players, James Ward and Kyle Edmund, to Miami with him, while his coach Amélie Mauresmo is also present.
Murray finished the 2014 season strongly, until the very last match against Federer, anyway, but his record against the top three players this year stands at nine matches and nine defeats.