The three-time NBA All-Star is said to be now getting $9 million a year from Nike. With Antetokounmpo, it was 24 months because the company wanted to get it right with an athlete they were newly investing in. Traditionally, Nike’s product cycle for a signature shoe, from concept to store shelves, is 18 months. When approaching other companies about being involved with an athlete like Giannis, the name recognition has already been established by the campaign that a company like Nike will do for him.”Īntetokounmpo joins a Nike shoe roster that includes luminaries such as LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, Paul George and Kobe Bryant, along with the Nike-produced Jordan Brand players Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony.Īnd, of course, Michael Jordan himself, the godfather of the signature shoe.Īntetokounmpo’s shoe story is well-documented: Growing up with his brothers as sons of Nigerian immigrants struggling in Greece, the boys would sometimes share basketball sneakers.Įven when he got to the NBA, he would often try to make his shoes last as long as possible despite having what he’s said is a collection of several thousand at his apartment and in storage units. “It’s instant credibility because of the advertising and media dollars Nike will put behind him. “Any time any athlete is one of the marquee players of one of the major shoe and apparel companies, it helps in everything they do, especially if there is some sort of marketing commitment that comes along with it,” said Steve Rosner, co-founder of Rutherford, N.J.-based 16W Marketing LLC, a sports marketing agency that represents a number pro athletes. One sports marketing insider said a major shoe deal helps leverage additional off-court opportunities for players such as Antetokounmpo. “We were turning away things before the MVP award.” “We turn away a lot more than we accept,” Saratsis said. While not disclosing names, Saratsis said they’ve rejected a number of offers and expect to keep doing so as Antetokounmpo’s profile continues to rise. Some of the deals have an equity stake in the company for Antetokounmpo in addition to cash payments. “It’s products he believes in, companies that he can growth with.” “He chose things specifically that serve a purpose and can impact people,” Saratsis said. Saratsis, who likened his role to actor Robert Duvall’s role in the “Godfather” films as the Corleone family’s consigliere, or chief advisor, said some new endorsements will be announced over the next couple of months. “When a company like Nike is willing to invest that kind of time and money into an athlete, it shows other brands that he stands for all the right things, that he can move product and raise awareness.” He’s the only foreign-born Nike signature athlete,” Saratsis said. That list illustrates his international crossover appeal as a foreign-born NBA superstar, and the first non-American to have a Nike shoe.Īntetokounmpo, who turns 25 this week, is represented as an agent and business manager by Alex Saratsis, senior director of global operations-basketball at powerful sports agency Octagon. In addition to Nike, Antetokounmpo has done endorsement deals with Metro by T-Mobile, Hulu, JBL Audio, NBA 2K, BMO Harris Bank, Aegean Airlines, men’s fragrance line STR8, Swedish milk producer Milko, Chinese television manufacturer TCL, Swiss luxury watch maker Tissot, and Chicago-based Mediterranean food maker Kronos Foods. His basketball abilities have landed him on a couple of Sports Illustrated covers and the box cover of the NBA 2K19 video game, but perhaps even more powerful is the shoe and apparel deal. The seventh-year pro and reigning league MVP having his own signature kick through the world’s largest shoe brand – he’s one of just 25 people to have such a deal in Nike history – is also a valuable tool to leverage more of what he’s trying to do with his growing portfolio of endorsement deals.
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