Friday 6 October 2017

"A staggering 98 percent of the current $39-million contract Adidas has with the University of Louisville has been paid to men's basketball coach Rick Pitino"

A staggering 98 percent of the current $39-million contract Adidas has with the University of Louisville has been paid to men's basketball coach Rick Pitino, Kentucky state records obtained by the Courier-Journal's Andrew Wolfson show.

Such contracts between apparel makers and big-name schools and coaches are not uncommon, but there is generally some expectation that a portion of the funds go to the respective university. In 2014-15 at Louisville, however, $1.5 million went to Pitino, while just $10,000 went to the school.

The Adidas angle remains a major component in the FBI's NCAA corruption investigation. A company executive was arrested in the probe, amid allegations Pitino helped arrange a $100,000 payment to blue-chip recruit Brian Bowen, facilitated by Adidas.

Louisville's five-year apparel deal with Adidas expires next July, when a new 10-year, $160 million pact is set to take effect. However, with Pitino's dismissal now a formality and the program ensnared in the scandal, the contract's future is unclear.

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