Nine Hundred and Nineteen. The Largest Endorsement Contract in History!
On the day of the All-Star Game, as the All-Star vote king, Mr. Na was in high spirits when he came to the new Amway Arena, while Howard, the vote king in the East, received a lot of boos after returning to Orlando.
Nash is very popular now. One of his activities the day before yesterday, Friday morning, was to give a speech to Florida State University, and he entered the ranks of successful people.
This made Sun Ce sigh. From ancient times to the present, fame has always been king. There is a big difference in whether people with the same resume are famous or not.
Nash's inspiration is an objective fact. He spread the word through hype and he became a representative of inspiration. However, Stockton brought his wife and children to watch the All-Star Weekend game and no fans recognized who he was.
During the round table meeting at noon, according to the league, due to tight time constraints, the North American Wujue Song and Dance Troupe and the Xiong Ba Tianxia Orchestra did not have time to prepare for performances. There will be no special performances in this All-Star Game.
This All-Star Game, finally no one caused trouble before the game, after two years! In the past two years, the pre-game performances have been more popular than the games. This time I can finally watch the All-Star game.
However, fans are fortunate to be able to watch the All-Star Game without interference, but they also feel some regrets. Perhaps on a certain day in the future, the pre-game performances of the All-Star Game in 10 and 11 years will be It has become a memory of youth. When it was confirmed that there would be no special performance at noon today, some fans expressed regret online and hoped that they could see the top five performances from North America when the competition system returns to normal next year.
This made the league official responsible for planning the All-Star Weekend hide in a corner and curse Sun Ce - he finally invited a Grammy singer to perform before the game, and it is not as good as a few players to mess around to gain popularity. It is so unreasonable.
Nash, Randolph, and Sun Ce, who had finished their charity visit to the orphanage in Orlando from 2 to 3 pm, were also lamenting about this matter. Everyone was too busy, and only Kobe wanted to stay away from these three people. Yes, he was even a little envious of Duncan not being in the All-Stars... The Gasol brothers, who formed a team with these four to participate in charity events, were envious of Nash, Randolph, Sun Ce, and Kobe who performed together last year. They were both too big. It's just that it's not suitable for such an activity.
However, even if Sun Ce did not steal the limelight of the All-Star Game by dancing, the sudden statement of a sneaker brand put Sun Ce in the spotlight again!
Just when the Eastern and Western All-Stars were divided into four teams to participate in charity events, the well-known sports brand Under Armor publicly made an offer to Sun Ce, providing a sky-high endorsement offer of US$385 million over 10 years. At the same time, the media also exposed AJ Sun Ce was offered an offer of US$200 million over 10 years, and rumors revealed that Under Armor initially offered US$350 million over 10 years, but was declined, and finally raised the price to US$385 million over 10 years.
When Sun Ce received a call from Bill Duffy,
I even cursed "fuck"...
…
After the charity event, Sun Ce immediately returned to the hotel, where Bill Duffy was already waiting.
Arriving at Bill Duffy's room, Bill Duffy immediately asked Sun Ce to sit down next to him and show him the quotation sent by Under Armor.
"When did Under Armor offer 350 million over 10 years? Noah, you refused? No, based on what I know about you, you were eager to agree immediately." Bill Duffy, "But this 385 million contract is really coming!"
Bill Duffy sat next to Sun Ce and looked at the official quotation on the computer screen. He felt that there was something wrong with his memory. He had a good character and a good reputation. He was well-known among NBA owners and players, but his business ability was not the best. The few good agents are also top-notch. For example, they got Randolph 33 million for two years when he almost couldn't find a job, and helped Randolph find a team that was suitable for him to change his career trajectory. Even if Sun Ce didn't show up, , this operation can be considered very powerful.
But I still didn’t realize what Under Armour’s operation was, it happened too suddenly.
"..." Sun Ce was speechless. What did he mean by knowing him so well that he wanted to agree immediately?
Although this is true, it is too direct. He doesn't want to lose face!
Sun Ce was also surprised. They seemed to have never negotiated with Under Armor before and knew that the other party was interested. However, Under Armor has been interested in all the stars in recent years, but not many are willing to go.
"Are they using us for hype?" Sun Ce thought of Under Armor's future offer of a 280 million contract to Durant.
"That's how it should be." Bill Duffy came to the same conclusion.
"How about we refuse?" Sun Ce was stunned by such an offer.
"You are crazy, 385 million! Of course you have to accept it! If AJ is willing to match, then we will match. If not, we will sign Under Armor. This is 385 million! Not 38.5 million!" Bill Duffy stood up in fright.
AJ previously offered 200 million in 10 years, but he really thought it was too little. James is currently offering 100 million in 5 years, and he is very sure that the price will increase in 2015. Sun Ce’s commercial value is not inferior to that of James, and Bill Duffy is not willing to sign for 20 million a year. For a 10-year contract, what he wants is three years. In 2015, he can try to continue to compete with James' endorsement contract.
But for 38.5 million a year and a 10-year contract, only a fool would refuse. Bill Duffy is looking at Sun Ce like a fool.
However, Sun Ce just thought of the fact that James signed a lifetime endorsement in 2015 when he was 30 years old. But after being yelled at by Bill Duffy, Sun Ce thought that he would definitely not be able to compare with James who had already reached 2015 in the original time and space.
He remembered that James renewed his contract with Nike in 2010, 100 million for 5 years, which expired in 2015. It seems that after the contract expired in 2015, James and Nike renewed a lifetime contract, with a maximum of 15 years, and the total price of various terms and conditions was up to 1 billion US dollars. That was after he became successful.
In addition, when Kobe turned 30 in 2008, he signed a contract of 15 million US dollars per year as long as he did not retire. If he played until he was 43 or 44 years old, Nike would still pay him... This was also after he became successful.
As for the difference between Kobe and James in sneaker endorsements, it is quite large, mainly because Kobe is not as good as James in selling shoes.
If calculated by proportion, Sun agreed to this 10-year contract, plus the previous 3 years of 21 million, which is a total of more than 400 million for 13 years...higher than the endorsement fees of James and Kobe in the first 12 or 13 years of their careers.
With such an offer, what else do you want?
"Then agree to the offer and send it to AJ?" Sun Ce looked at the 385 million and was about to agree, but his hands were shaking a little.
"Agree?" Bill Duffy also thought it was incredible. Although he was furious when he heard that Sun Ce was going to refuse, his hands were shaking a little when he was about to agree.
This is the largest contract he has ever handled in his life.
385 million, he doesn't know how this price is calculated, whether it is based on the money Sun Ce earned for AJ in a year or the market estimate, anyway, he never thought of such a big contract.
He has been unable to reach an agreement with AJ, mainly on the time of launching the signature shoes and the length of the contract. AJ hopes to keep the status quo for the time being, and is willing to pay, but hopes that Sun Ce can continue to endorse Jordan retro sneakers.
Now it's 385 million, and Under Armour has agreed to launch a signature shoe immediately in the new season. Under Armour's shoes are not bad, but they are not as famous as Nike and Adidas. Under Armour used to mainly produce professional sports equipment. In terms of sports shoes, they didn't involve much in basketball shoes before, but their technology in this area is not bad, especially the air cushion technology is second only to Nike's Air series.
Moreover, if AJ matches the contract, he must match all the terms, at least he should discuss the signature shoes carefully when the price is the same.
Anyway, he must agree to the offer, 385 million, and he would be a fool to refuse.
After letting the lawyer brought by Bill Duffy take a good look at the offer email sent by Under Armour and find that there were no problems and traps, Sun Ce signed with a handwriting input board, and Bill Duffy signed, and replied to Under Armour.
...
385 million US dollars, not only made Sun Ce's hands tremble, but also the basketball world exploded.
The biggest endorsement contract in NBA history, of course, not considering Nike's sub-brand for Jordan to establish and give him shares with annual dividends, otherwise there is no way to compare. Since he retired completely in 2003, Jordan's annual dividends have reached at least 100 million US dollars.
But just looking at the endorsement of sneakers, Sun Ce's 38.5 million US dollars a year almost doubles the endorsement fee of James, who currently has the highest endorsement fee for sneakers!
No one thought that Sun Ce would refuse, and of course, Sun Ce did not refuse.
For a time, the limelight of the All-Star Game was snatched away by Under Armour's sudden public offer, and Sun Ce once again overshadowed the limelight of the All-Star Game.
AJ was caught off guard. They didn't expect Sun Ce's "heart was so wild" that he actually refused 350 million US dollars, and Under Armour was willing to give 385 million, and increase it by 3.85 million every year.
In fact, Under Armour made the most money. Sun Ce knew that this was a self-directed and self-acted performance by Under Armour. He had never received Under Armour's 350 million offer, and the other party directly offered 385 million. When tracing the source of the news, it had nothing to do with Under Armour itself. Under Armour also distanced itself from the matter, saying that they only offered 385 million and never offered 350 million.
But people are more willing to believe that Sun Ce asked for too much, and Under Armour had no choice but to offer 385 million after refusing 350 million.
After this news came out, no matter what Sun Ce chose, the ending was the same. There were people praising him, attacking Sun Ce for making money, and all kinds of discussions.
Sun Ce suddenly became the most controversial athlete at present.
AJ has already made an appointment to discuss the offer again after Sun Ce and Bill Duffy returned to Memphis on February 29. This time AJ was cheated by Under Armour. Under Armour took advantage of their failure to reach a contract renewal with Sun Ce and succeeded in making a name for themselves.
This incident also caused quite a stir among the players.
At 4:30 p.m., Sun Ce returned to the team and had dinner with the All-Stars from the East and West. At 5:30 p.m., he would start warming up for the All-Star Game which would start at 8 p.m.
As soon as he arrived at the restaurant, Sun Ce was immediately surrounded by Nash, Randolph, Evans, Gasol, Iguodala, etc., asking about the endorsement fee. Even James came to ask, and Kobe was listening beside him... These two veterans who ranked first and second in sneaker endorsement fees before still care about this matter.
Sun Ce is also confused now, the matter came very suddenly, but he could only nod to indicate that it was true.
Other brands' quotations are all concealed, afraid that others will know, but Under Armour is good, and it is widely publicized, for fear that others will not know.
After Kobe got the response, he hid in the corner and drew circles... It's not a good time!
There was no particularly big reaction from James, and he seemed to have planned it for a long time.
Durant is envious and jealous!
…
Hot discussion will be hot discussion, sensation will be sensation, time will not stop because of this.
And for the players, an endorsement of 385 million in 10 years is very enviable, but they will not ask Sun Ce how he got such a big contract. They just want to know if it is true. Still a rumor.
After confirming that it is true, congratulations, envy, envy, it doesn't matter.
This kind of thing is not something you can envy. Jordan's salary is more than 100 million every year, and it is still rising every year.
It's over, it's over. The only one among the All-Stars who couldn't contain their excitement about this matter was Sun Ce himself.
At 5:30 in the evening, the warm-up and preparations began.
The All-Star head coach in the Western Conference is Coach Hollins. This is also the first time in the history of the Grizzlies that a coach has become the head coach of the All-Star game.
In the East, since Sloan represented the Bulls as the head coach of the Eastern All-Stars last year, because the head coach of the All-Star Game cannot be re-elected by the head coach of the same team, Spohr, the Heat head coach who is currently ranked second in the Eastern Conference, Stella became the head coach of the Eastern Conference All-Stars.
Coach Hollins has four All-Stars, and he is unwilling to let his players play for too long. Nowitzki has just won the championship, so he must let Nowitzki play more, not only to give face to the veterans, but also to Can consume more opponents.
The same Kobe, Durant, Westbrook, and Gasol were also assigned important roles.
Popovich had long expected that Coach Hollins would do this and directly refused to let Parker play in the All-Star Game. Anyway, he was selected and it was already recorded in the honor roll. Whether he played or not was not that important.
As for Yao Ming not being on Coach Hollins' list, there is no way. Yao Ming is not suitable for the All-Star stage, and it is not entertaining to watch. As the All-Star head coach, the only instruction he gets from the league is to make the game enjoyable. , whether it’s a fierce confrontation or a beautiful attack, as long as it looks good.
At seven o'clock in the evening, after the entrance ceremony of the Eastern and Western All-Stars, there was no dance troupe led by Sun Ce to perform this time. It returned to the 2009 All-Star Weekend mode and invited Adai, who had just won the Grammy for Best Pop Singer. Er sang the award-winning song "Someone Like You".
At 8 p.m., the All-Star Game begins.
In the West, Nash, Kobe, Sun Ce, Durant, and Yao Ming appeared in the lineup.
In the East, the combination of Rose, Evans, James, Stoudemire, and Howard appeared.
The Americans didn't think there was any problem with the lineups of the two teams. Sun Ce wished that Howard would be renamed Swade or Horsted or Howarth. The other four players all had "S" in their names, but Howard was the only one who didn't. It's so obsessive-compulsive!
After the game started, Sun Ce passed an alley-oop connection to Yao Ming. After Nash and Sun Ce picked and rolled, he gave Kobe an exquisite pass. Kobe ran to catch the ball and made a shot... After more than 4 minutes, Sun Ce and Nash were blocked. Replaced.
The Western team put on a lineup of Westbrook, Kobe, Durant, Randolph, and Gasol.
Coach Hollins is planning to let Randolph and Gasol show up in the first quarter, but not play after that. Sun Ce and Nash, the two All-Stars, will have to play later in the starting lineup, but they will only show up at the beginning of each quarter. There is no need to use them at critical moments, there are so many key players in the West.
The Eastern Conference has replaced the lineup of Rondo + Heat's Big Three + Howard.
Sun Ce originally had some ideas, wanting to steal the spotlight from Kobe, Nowitzki, and Durant, but now he has no ideas at all. All he can think about is $385 million...
Sun Ce only played 16 minutes tonight, playing the first four minutes of each quarter and scoring 8 points and 5 assists.
But it is true that these players, who are only three or four years old, have not yet performed. Rose only played 18 minutes and scored 14 points. Evans only played 14 minutes, replacing the young All-Stars. Player Love only played 15 minutes.
Even if the head coaches of the two teams wanted to consume the All-Star players from their competitors in the playoffs, they did not go after the young players because it would not have much effect. In other words, they did not have that card yet.
The real main players who were consumed were veterans and Mesozoic players. Coach Hollins caught Westbrook and used it to his death. For such an operation, Thunder coach Brooks, who was watching the game on the spot, scolded Huo Baldy for being shameless.
Spoelstrado was an honest man, so he caught Rondo and Howard and used them to death, without thinking of consuming Rose and Evans.
But Westbrook played so well tonight!
The main force in the Western Conference is the five-man team of Westbrook, Kobe, Durant, Nowitzki, and Gasol.
Partnering with Kobe Bryant, who has switched to a catch-and-shoot style of play, Durant, who has always been the scapegoat, and Nowitzki, who has gradually recovered after playing for half a season, Westbrook can shirk the blame however he wants...
In the East, James worked hard to communicate with his teammates and helped Wade get a triple-double of 24 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists. He wanted to help Wade get another MVP during the All-Star Weekend on the South Coast, but he had no choice. , was stolen by Westbrook.
In the end, with Nowitzki, Kobe, and Durant scoring 85 points together, Westbrook scored 18 points, 11 rebounds, and 16 assists, leading the Western team to beat the Eastern team 155-141. Westbrook, who got a triple-double, and Nowitzki, who scored 30 points, won the All-Star MVP together.
Sun Ce sat on the sidelines and watched with envy, enjoying the combination of Kobe + Nowitzki + Durant, who could arbitrarily pass the blame and not be afraid of missing the shot. The three of them had a hit rate of over 50% in the All-Star Game. I'm afraid there is no other opportunity for this treatment except the All-Star Game.
But the future is still long. After two years, he will become a Mesozoic player, and it will be their time.
The All-Star Game is over, and another year's All-Star Weekend has come to an end. This year's All-Star Weekend is too tight, and Sun Ce feels it's not fun... Wait until next year, and I must have enough fun.
Sun Ce didn't realize that what he resisted very much at the beginning, now feels uncomfortable without doing it for a year...