By Kevin Erpenbeck

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UK athletes will continue to wear Nike brand apparel through the year 2025, according to the Portland Business Journal.

According to the report, UK Athletics and Nike signed an eight-year extension on to the parties’ previous contract with each other back in April 2013. The original deal was set to expire in 2017.

“The University has enjoyed its partnership with Nike for decades.  We are constantly monitoring the partnership for opportunities to expand and build a deeper relationship,” UK Assistant Athletics Director Tony Neely said. “Nike is the best sports brand in the world and we are excited to have locked them in as a partner through 2025.”

The university failed to disclose the news of the extension when the Business Journal filed for an open records request last year, according to the report. Upon a second records request this week, a copy of the extension was provided to the Business Journal, and  a spokeswoman told the news organization that the university likely did not comply with the original request due to an “oversight.”

When asked about why UK Athletics didn’t immediately announce the new extension in 2013, Neely said it was because the university has dozens of partnerships and that extensions “are not normally news.”

The deal is reportedly worth up to $30.6 million for UK. The university will receive $1.8 million each year, with an annual apparel allowance rising to $2.125 million by the last year of the deal. The extension makes it Nike’s seventh highest monetary contract.

Nike also signed an extension with Florida and Florida State recently, each lasting until 2024, according to the report.