Sneaker Endorsement Contract? Too Cheap, PASS!

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It's no surprise that Nike is interested in Wang Chong.

Although Wang Chong wasn't very prominent during his college years, his popularity and the buzz surrounding him increased significantly after a series of events such as the NCAA finals, being traded by the Lakers on draft day, and defeating Anthony in the Summer League. Naturally, he now holds some commercial value.

More importantly, Wang Chong is one of the few players in the league with black hair and yellow skin.

Last year, Nike, out of arrogance, offered Yao Ming a humiliatingly low contract, which successfully angered Yao Ming and his agency team. This caused Nike to miss out on signing Yao Ming. Even after trying to rectify the situation by offering a 7-year, $120 million contract, Nike still failed to retain Yao Ming. Reebok, which paid $50 million for 7 years, ended up scoring a big win.

Is Yao Ming worth $120 million over 7 years? Of course, he is. After all, he is the most famous basketball player in China, with immense appeal and commercial value there.

Nike is beginning to regret it now because Yao Ming's rookie season has just ended. Although he lost to the Suns' forward Amar'e Stoudemire for the Rookie of the Year award, Yao averaged 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, proving that he could adapt to the NBA's pace. He is sure to play in the NBA for many years and could even become an All-Star player.

Having already missed out on Yao Ming, Nike didn't want to let another promising Chinese player, Wang Chong, slip through their fingers now that he seemed capable of making it in the NBA.

Two days later, Wang Chong, accompanied by his agent Thomas, met with Nike representatives.

The sneaker endorsement contract that Nike offered Wang Chong was a six-year deal worth 12 million yuan, averaging 2 million yuan per year.

This amount might sound a bit low, with an average of 2 million per year, which is a far cry from the 7-year, $93 million contract that James recently signed with Nike. It's also incomparable to the 7-year, $60 million deal Kevin Durant signed when he entered the NBA in 2007.

But after all, Wang Chong is not James or Durant, and his value has not yet been fully recognized.

When Thomas saw that Nike was willing to offer such a contract, his eyes widened in surprise.

It wasn't his fault. Wade had just signed a sneaker deal with Converse not long ago, averaging only $500,000 per year.

It's not that Thomas didn't want to get Wade a better contract; the problem was that it was too difficult.

Wade wasn't highly favored during the draft; he was considered too old and had injury risks. It was a miracle that the Heat picked him with the fifth pick. It was naturally impossible to expect him to have significant commercial appeal immediately.

After all, this is 2003, not the future era of inflation where money is almost worthless.

Even Anthony, who competed with James for the No. 1 pick, only got a six-year, $18 million shoe contract as a rookie, averaging $3 million per year.

From this, we can see how popular and appealing James is in the United States. A high school student who has never played in the NCAA or an NBA game could secure a $93 million, 7-year contract, setting a record for the largest rookie sneaker endorsement deal. This record remained unshakable until Wang Chong traveled through time.

Even in 2019, the rookie shoe contract of Zion Williamson, known as having the strongest body in history, was only 7 years and $75 million. This second-largest rookie shoe contract in history still falls short of James' 7 years and $93 million.

When a player as strong as Anthony could only get $3 million and Wade just $500,000, the $2 million-a-year contract Nike offered to Wang Chong was simply a sky-high price in Thomas's eyes, and he was naturally thrilled.

However, after reading the contract, Wang Chong frowned.

From Thomas' perspective, this might already be a substantial deal, but Wang Chong certainly wasn't satisfied with it.

After all, he knows very well that after entering the NBA, he will rise rapidly in a short time, and there's no possibility that he won't perform well.

This six-year contract is too long for Wang Chong. By that time, he could have become a top star in the league, but he would still be stuck with this cheap contract.

By the same token, if Wade knew he would win an NBA championship and be named Finals MVP in his third season, with his commercial value skyrocketing, he certainly wouldn't have accepted Converse's $500,000-a-year sneaker deal.

And that's exactly what happened. After Wade's contract with Converse expired, he immediately switched to Jordan Brand, led by Michael Jordan. The new sneaker contract was for $5 million a year, and he finally had the status of a superstar.

Of course, Wang Chong doesn't expect Nike to offer him a huge contract at this stage. That's not realistic. After all, his status is different from Yao Ming's.

But $12 million for six years is still too cheap for him.

Shaking his head slightly, Wang Chong pushed the contract forward.

"I'm sorry, but this contract seems too cheap to me. I can't accept it."

The smiling Nike representative's expression froze slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Wang Chong. For a moment, he even doubted whether he had heard correctly.

Did he say this contract is too cheap?

Does he know that 6 years and $12 million is the third-highest contract among the 2003 rookies? Except for James' 7 years and $93 million and Anthony's 6 years and $18 million, no player signed a higher shoe contract than this.

This includes this year's second pick, Darko Milicic, and fourth pick, Chris Bosh.

Even his big brother from his NCAA days, Wade, only had a $500,000-a-year sneaker deal! How much does he want?

Resisting the urge to complain, the Nike representative asked in a calm tone.

"Then, Mr. Wang Chong, what is your expected price?"

Wang Chong thought about it for a moment and then replied firmly, "At least $8 million a year, and the contract can only be for a maximum of four years."

Thomas, sitting next to Wang Chong, almost popped his eyes out and looked at Wang Chong in shock.

Does this guy know what he's talking about?

$8 million a year?

Looking at all the players in the league today, only a few have sneaker contracts exceeding this amount.

Only a handful, such as Kobe, Garnett, Iverson, and Carter, have deals in this range or higher.

Now add James to the mix, and that's it!

How dare you, a rookie who just arrived and is relatively unknown?

The Nike representative was also stunned by Wang Chong's bold demand, and his expression changed from calm to surprise.

"Are you serious?"

"Of course," Wang Chong replied without hesitation. "If your company can't provide such a contract, please feel free to leave."

Without another word, the Nike representative left decisively, just making a call to headquarters and then turning around to leave.

Thomas watched the Nike rep's departing back with a look of regret. He couldn't help but turn to Wang Chong and say, "Wang, are you sure you know what you're doing? You just turned down a multi-million dollar contract."

End of this chapter

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