LIFE is doubly beautiful if you’re famous, and whether you’re an entertainer or an athlete, the public eye is always on you. Chances are, you capitalize on your popularity and take advantage of your marketability by hooking up with companies for endorsement deals.
Let’s talk about athletes since we’re in the sports section. These sport stars and brands make a very profitable marriage and companies are always in the lookout for fresh new faces to carry their products.
According to reports, athletes had been lending their names to products since the 1920s as a form of sideline to add to their salaries. It’s not the case today as they don’t have to break a sweat for them to earn millions of moneys promoting certain products.
The biggest brands in sport had cornered the world’s top athletes by giving some of them lifetime deals like football icons David Beckham and Lionel Messi for Adidas and Cristiano Ronaldo, Michael Jordan and LeBron James for Nike. I would assume that Stephen Curry will also be having a lifetime deal of his own with Under Armour soon.
Kobe Bryant retired in 2016 and soon after, inked a five-year deal with Nike which could just be some form of formality for their eventual perpetual agreement. He revolutionized the low-cut shoes which became popular with players and was the only other NBA player aside from Jordan selling their signature shoes long after they retired from the game.
But fate had other plans when Kobe tragically died in January 2020 and when the deal expired last month, Nike and Kobe’s side, after collaborating for 11 shoe models, could not agree on a new deal. Obviously, the Swoosh don’t want to make a lifetime contract.
Reportedly, Kobe’s camp was disappointed with the way Nike handled the release of his signature line after his death where the demand grew especially among resellers, limiting new releases which sold out immediately despite ridiculously steep prices. His wife Vanessa reached out to Nike to solve the issue but apparently, nothing came up.
This means that Nike will stop manufacturing all Kobe-related shoes and apparel but will be releasing Kobe products that were already in the works. There could be reissues especially of the very popular KB 6 Protro “Grinch” in lime green color way.
There were reports that before his death, Kobe was not satisfied with Nike and was to leave the company after his contract ends. He wanted to start Mamba, a shoe company collectively owned by players. If so, Vanessa can choose a company to start a new deal as they have the rights to the Mamba logo and his signature.
Notable NBA players wearing Kobes are DeMar DeRozan, Devin Booker, Ja Morant, Josh Hart, Myles Turner, D’Aaron Fox, PJ Tucker and LA Laker players Anthony Davis, Talen Horton-Tucker and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope./PN
