Pirates' Konnor Griffin Inks New Cleat Sponsorship Deal
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates shortstop Konnor Griffin continues gaining more notoriety by the day and earning extra sponsorships for it.
Griffin is exclusively wearing Under Armour cleats starting with the 2026 season, after signing a deal with the company, according to Bleacher Report. It is a multi-year deal and also an apparel deal, which will see him almost head-to-toe in the company's clothes and cleats.
The Pirates prospect already wore Under Armour baseball cleats throughout his 2025 campaign and will now be a big part of the brand moving forward.
It is one of a few sponsorships that Griffin already has, including bruce bolt for his batting gloves and Marucci Sports for his glove at shortstop.
Big Season Ahead for Konnor Griffin
Griffin heads into the 2026 campaign as the consensus top prospect in baseball, coming off a 2025 season where he won numerous awards and dominated at every level.
This earned him Spring Training opportunities with the Pirates, playing in 16 games and starting 12 contests at shortstop.
He showed off his power, leading the Pirates with four home runs, and his defense, where he won an 2025 MiLB Gold Glove Award, but also showed that he is still 19 years old and will begin the season at Triple-A Indianapolis.
Griffin had his struggles from the plate, hitting just .171 and finishing with 13 strikeouts to 2 walks, which he'll get a chance to work on his plate discipline in the minors.
The Pirates see Griffin as their shortstop for the future and their extension talks with him demonstrate that as well.
Griffin starting in Triple-A isn't the result he wanted, but it's not a bad place for him to begin 2026 and take some of the pressure off of him.
The Pirates may decide that he only needs one-two weeks at Indianapolis and then bring him up to ensure they get the Prospect Promotion Incentive (PPI), if he wins the Rookie of the Year Award or finishes top three in MVP votes, which will earn them a solid draft pick.
Pittsburgh could also keep Griffin down longer, depending on if he reaches their benchmarks, which he did last season, moving from Single-A to Double-A in just his first professional season.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington sees Griffin as far more mature than most 19 year olds and also that they will give him the chance to make the 26-man roster when he's ready.
“We weren’t closing the door coming into Spring Training," Cherington said. "Wanted to learn as much as we could from spring training and I think he showed us all the things that make us believe in him so much.
"We saw the defensive ability, the base-stealing, the speed, the power and just ultimately got to a point in the Spring where we felt like, ‘You know what, let’s give him an opportunity to get a run in Triple-A,’. Just get some more bats underneath him. Sort of looking out for the length of the season and his future.”
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.