It started as an anecdote in Adrian Wojnarowski’s piece about how Michael Jordan‘s shadow hangs over the new NBA season, and now looks like it’s about to become a reality. A week after Derrick Rose signed a five-year, $94.8 million contract extension with the Bulls, adidas looks like they’re about to pay the 23-year-old MVP a ridiculous $250 million over 10 years.
One industry source insisted to ESPN.com this week that Rose’s new shoe deal with adidas will easily crack nine figures and could legitimately approach the $250 million range – as in $25 million annually over a 10-year span – in what is known in the shoe game as a “lifetime” deal.
How can the reigning MVP possibly command those kind of dollars as a shoe endorser? Here’s how: Rose, as it was explained to me, is adidas’ only counter to Kobe Bryant in China. I’m told Rose already outsells LeBron James there.
Wow. If this deal goes down, Rose would most likely become the highest-paid shoe endorser in the NBA. I say most likely, because no one technically knows how much LeBron re-upped with Nike for in 2010 after his seven-year, $93 million deal from May 2003 expired.
Last year, I was told by an industry insider that Nike had Rose’s contract expiration with adidas circled on their calendar ever since he spurned them in the summer of 2008. Props to adidas for doing whatever it takes to keep their guy.
What do you think?
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