USA Football, Rawlings sign two-year deal

USA Football today signed a two-year deal with Rawlings, making the St. Louis-based sporting goods manufacturer a supplier for America’s national teams and USA Football’s youth football initiatives.

Indianapolis-based USA Football, the sport’s national governing body in the United States, manages U.S. national teams in the sport and is one of 62 national federations spanning six continents dedicated solely to football.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Rawlings will outfit U.S. national teams and provide footballs for Team USA’s competitions as well as the 2012 International Federation of American Football Under-19 World Championship. Rawlings also will be the official football of USA Football’s Player Academies, three-day age-specific youth football development camps conducted nationally teaching fundamentals to strengthen players’ skills.

Rawlings also will produce USA Football-licensed uniform selections for youth leagues, which will be available through Rawlings dealers at usafootball.com in the coming weeks.

“USA Football is exactly the kind of organization we want to connect ourselves with as they develop players the right way through proper fundamentals and skill training,” said Mike Thompson, Rawlings senior vice president of marketing.  

USA Football, an independent not-for-profit is the official youth football development partner of the NFL and its 32 teams. USA Football manages U.S. national teams within the sport for international competition and awards $1 million annually in equipment grants to youth and high school football programs based on merit and need.