Saying no to $20 million

When an athlete get to star status in the pro leagues, apparel companies come knocking at their doors and offer them deals to exclusively use their products. As soon as they agree to terms, merchandise regularly come to them that there’s actually no need to buy anything to wear or use.

Shoe and apparel deals require an athlete to also do some marketing for the product they’re using.  Promotional tours and store visits are the usual activities that they do aside from not letting any part of their anatomy get the feel of a competing brand.

It’s another thing when an athlete gets to have their own line, a signature shoe and apparel, where they usually get a royalty of 5% on all shoe and apparel sold worldwide having their own logos.

Kawhi Leonard is among the elite of the NBA not only noted for his offensive skills but also for his defensive abilities which earned 2 consecutive Defensive Player of the Year Honors (2015 and 2016).  He was instrumental in San Antonio’s 2014 title squad and was named as the Finals MVP.  He was 2-time All Star but because of a right quadriceps injury, he has only played for 9 games this season.

The Spurs are missing Leonard’s last season’s per game average of 25 points.   He upped his production during the playoffs to almost 28ppg.  San Antonio is 5th in the Western Conference with a 37-27 win-loss record and unless they’ll win 13 of their remaining 16 games, for the first time         in two decades, the Spurs will fail to reach the 50-win mark.

It could be Kawhi’s inactivity that hampered negotiations for a shoe contract extension with the Jordan Brand.  The company offered him a $20m, 4-year deal but his handlers thought that the deal does not compensate his stature in the league.   The offer also does not give Leonard a chance to have his own signature shoe.

He and Blake Griffin earn the same amount from the Jordan Brand, unlike Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook who have their own lines and earn much, much more.   Obviously, Leonard wants to have a line of his own and earn more that’s why negotiations got stalled.  The old deal gets him “only” $500,000 annually.

But as I said earlier, shoe deals are not all about playing on the hardcourt as it also involves sales and requires athletes to do some marketing pitch.  As per reports, the normally quite Leonard seldom does PR work and does not go out like most signature athletes do.  His handlers could have thought about this one minor detail and had he been more visible, Leonard could have some haggling points.  His contract ends on October 1 and then he becomes a shoe free agent, free to sign with any company that would be happy to accommodate his demands.

The Jordan Brand’s exclusive negotiating window closes sometime in July and would allow Leonard to negotiate with offers from new companies.  Shoe deals usually get settled by September, before training camp starts and if Leonard does switch companies, the Nike subsidiary will have ten days to match the offer.   Often, these insanely paid athletes don’t find contentment anymore in “paltry” contracts that multi-million, multi-year deals are routinely shunned.

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A close friend’s son who’s a star player in one of the universities in Manila was once a “free agent” in the shoe wars and when he was inked to a multi-year apparel deal, all his shoes not affiliated nor connected with the company were disposed and given to eager recipients.  His father and I wear size 11s and his size 12s have comforted our happy feet.