Brandon Jennings to become face of Under Armour basketball line

High school basketball phenom Brandon Jennings decided against playing hoops in college, and has now blown past apparel titans Nike Inc. and Adidas.

The 19-year-old Jennings has signed a multi-year deal with Baltimore’s Under Armour Inc. (NYSE: UA), marking the company’s first basketball endorsement agreement. Jennings will wear Under Armour’s highly anticipated basketball sneakers, expected to be released in early 2009.

Jennings pulled out of a letter of intent to attend the University of Arizona beginning this fall and announced he would play professional basketball instead with the Italian pro league in Europe. The move is considered a potentially groundbreaking way to get around the National Basketball Association’s ban on drafting players straight out of high school.

Jennings is eligible to play in the NBA beginning in the 2009-2010 season.

Under Armour has been boosting its basketball presence in the last year, first signing on as the title sponsor of the Capital Classic high school tournament.

Legendary sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro represented Jennings on the deal. Vaccaro has worked with Nike (NYSE: NKE), Adidas and Reebok.

Under Armour will also launch a blog written by Jennings on its Web site beginning in October.

Source: http://washington.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/09/22/daily33.html

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