Finally can stand on the same starting line as Jordan, James, and Curry!
Blockbuster official announcement, lifetime contract!
Keeping the clouds open and seeing the moon, waiting for the flowers to bloom sometimes, this poem is the best interpretation for Durant.
Durant and Nike jointly announced that Durant signed a lifetime endorsement contract with Nike. Durant became the third athlete after Jordan and James to reach a permanent contract with Nike, and the fourth person in NBA history to receive a permanent endorsement contract with a well-known sports brand. Former teammate Curry took the lead in signing a permanent endorsement contract with Under Armour, worth $1 billion.
It's a bit of a surprise that Durant has been treated like this. In terms of influence, Durant is inferior to Jordan, James and Curry. Jordan needless to say, Nike can have today's achievements, half of it is due to Jordan, James is the current NBA popularity king, traffic king, NBA history of the top five existence, get a lifetime contract, of course. Curry is the leader of the small-ball era and the top spokesperson of Under Armour, and Curry's rapid rise is indispensable, and given that Curry's influence will continue, it makes sense that Under Armour offered a lifetime contract.
Durant at ESPY
Durant, schoolbag Du, migrant Du, if you want traffic without traffic, you can't squeeze into the top ten for honor, the influence is numb, once because of joining the Warriors, at the ESPY ceremony by NFL superstar Payton Manning ridiculed, "Our women's gymnastics team is too dominant, even Durant told me that he will join them next year." Manning looked at the excitement and did not think it was too big, and cued Wei Shao, "What do you think?" Durant's face darkened, and he dared to be angry and did not dare to speak.
It is not difficult to see from this incident that Durant's reputation in the United States is not good. It's a bit weird that such a player can get the lifetime contract that athletes dream of.
In fact, the moment Durant joined the Warriors, Nike was going to prepare for this lifetime contract.
Joining the Warriors is not something that Durant alone can decide, and the financial owner behind him plays an important role. Before explaining the problem, tell us about the environment at that time.
After the Warriors unexpectedly won the championship in 15 years, and the fifth game of the Riding Braves game reached a shocking 23 million viewers, which made Xiao Hua, who had just become an NBA director, dazzled, he disdained to use the James and Durant of the Stern era, and decided to support the Warriors and create the Bull dynasty of the Shaw era, so the Warriors broke the 72-win record of the Stern era the following year.
With the storm of 73 wins, Xiao Hua also wants to break the highest ratings record in the Stern era, so the riding battle must be arranged, that year the Western Thunder led the Warriors 3-1, causing great obstacles to the Warriors, so ignorant, then don't blame Xiao Hua for being ruthless. Let the 73-win team stop the Western Final, isn't it proper to slap Xiao Hua in the face? Doesn't this mean that Durant in the Stern era is better than Curry in the Shaw era? This is absolutely impossible, Thunder must lie down, so after a wave of operations, grab seven to drag Thunder to death.
Riding the brave battle, the ratings are rising, especially the seven major battles, really made all the capital here drop their jaws, the number of viewers reached 31 million, ranking third in NBA ratings history! Such a terrifying rating, it is not Xiao Hua's turn to control, the NBA's largest financial lord, the three major TV stations in the United States, must intervene, absolutely cannot let the game show one-sided. Everyone saw the last two minutes of the Riding Brave Seven Games, the blowing penalty was clean, and the players on both sides were handed over to play their ultimate talent, and the Warriors were unable to match the Cavaliers after all, and James and Irving used their talent to the extreme to achieve the final victory.
Xiao Hua wants to hold the warriors and directly promote the rise of Under Armour, which makes Nike restless. When Nike was trying to find how to suppress Under Armour, the opportunity came to the door, the Warriors lost the Finals and needed a supergiant to serve as the finisher on the front line, so they found Durant, when the Warriors management and the Warriors' main players came to the door to ask for Durant, showing the greatest sincerity to ask Durant to join.
Durant is not stupid, just lost the Western Finals, isn't joining the Warriors to bear the stigma of joining if you can't win? With Durant's strength, joining the Spurs and Rockets can take off, and if you really retaliate against the whole league, teaming up with James is the NBA finale.
Of course, Nike does not allow its two celebrities to crowd in the small city of Cleveland, since Xiao Hua wants to develop the market of San Francisco and Oakland and promote the Warriors, then go along the water and arrange Durant to join the Warriors.
Durant has no room to refuse, maybe Nike pressures, maybe Nike gives too much.
Durant is really talented, taking away two FMVPs from Curry, directly suppressing Curry's momentum, thus reflecting in Under Armour, whose revenue did not skyrocket, from $2.33 billion in 13 years to $5.7 billion in 2021, with an 8-year compound growth rate of 12%. The milestone Curry is far from Jordan to Nike, and Under Armour has never been able to compete with Nike and Adidas, and even Anta is not as good as Anta, and can only wrestle with Li Ning and New Balance.
James is the NBA's largest traffic, with the Heat and Spurs fighting seven battles in 13 years, with 25.2 million viewers. As we all know, the Spurs are ratings poison, and ratings are entirely backed by James.
Durant joined the Warriors and also ate James' dividends, playing James in the Finals, showing the limelight and skyrocketing in popularity.
Perhaps, this is Nike's fat water does not flow outsiders, let their two reds play against each other, sad is the players, benefit is Nike.
It is precisely because Durant sacrificed his reputation to join the Warriors that Nike offered a permanent contract in order to compensate for Durant's humiliation in those years.