High School Basketball Phenom Brandon Jennings Signs With Under Armour

by Jon Azpiri | September 25, 2008 at 11:45 am

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High school basketball star Brandon Jennings has signed a multi-year deal with Under Armour apparel. Jennings will be the first player to wear Under Armour's new line of basketball sneakers, scheduled to be released early next year.

This is not the first time the 5'11" point guard has created a stir.

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 believes that aligning themselves with Jennings with give them a foothold into European basketball and eventually the NBA.

Jennings is the first basketball shoe endorser for the brand, which has signed him to a multi-year contract that is incentive based. Although Jennings has a three-year deal with the Italian team, it is well known that he has an out after each year.

“The endgame is for Brandon to make it the NBA and be the impact player that everyone is predicting that he’ll be,” said Steve Battista, Under Armour’s senior vice president of brand.