New York Cosmos drop Nike, switch to Under Armour in 2016

The North American Soccer League announced several days ago that Under Armour would be supplying balls to the league starting in 2016, but that won't be the only place this season where the Under Armour logo can be found. On March 16, the New York Cosmos will unveil their brand new uniforms, which will be the first made by Under Armour in the United States.

Cosmos' COO Eric Stover spoke to Bloomberg about the new deal, noting the upside in a potential switch:

"From the commercial side of things, there’s a lot of upside for us. Under Armour is able to help us with distribution in New York and globally. There’s interest with Under Armour in a legacy or heritage that you can’t do with anyone else in the U.S.,"

The Cosmos have been with Nike since they returned in 2013, and wore the same basic uniforms for their first two seasons, before adding a third in 2015. It will be interesting to see what Under Armour has to offer, and whether we'll see more of a throwback theme involved with the new shirts.

It's also worth noting that this ability to switch uniform manufacturers is one of the key criticisms the Cosmos had with MLS, during the time when the club was negotiating with the league, before deciding to join the NASL. At the time, Umbro was producing the club's clothing, while all MLS uniforms are made by Adidas, due to a league-wide sponsorship agreement.