Old School NBA And New Deals
Remember Michael Jordan’s last game back in 1998?. well 37,000 euros, was the price paid by an anonymous buyer to take home a piece of NBA history, nothing less than the basket where Michael Jordan scored the famously known, ‘The last shot’. the buyer will get the backboard, rim, net and about 450 kilograms of support that were auctioned together.
During the sixth game of the NBA Playoffs in 1998, Michael Jordan scored the winning basket with 5.2 seconds left to go in the very last game of his career, that basket, would become a legend, as it involved the sixth and last ring of Jordan. The epic move to guard stealing the ball and risking the all for all basket only serves to feed the greatness of the moment.
Those two pillars also accounted the goodbye for Michael Jordan as a player of the Chicago Bulls, and the very next season announced he was leaving basketball, although he did reappear for second time (he briefly retired in 1994) Four seasons later, while playing for the Washington Wizards.
James Harden, the shooting guard of the Houston Rockets and the most recognized beard in the NBA, will pocket 200 million dollar to sign with the sports brand Adidas. As long as Nike, with an ending contract fail to make a better offer. the company has until Friday to get hold of one of the best players in the NBA.
The free agents stance becomes important not only in terms of sports contracts but also to the branding and commercial side, since Harden can now negotiate new proposals with the firm that would offer better conditions and right now Adidas deal seems hard to beat.
In 2012, Texas came to a renewal agreement with the player for 80 million dollars through the 2017-2018 season, so if the deal with Adidas is a go, Harden would receive more for his dressing in Adidas clothes than from his actual position in the Houston Rockets.
To put into context the $ 200 million he would receive in 13 years, it is half what of what the brand pays for all NBA teams clothing in eleven seasons. This is a strategic move by the company, in an attempt to regain leadership in sportswear threatened by other companies.
Adidas already paid Manchester United the highest figures for sponsorship in sport, about 128 million dollars for the next ten seasons, replacing Nike in the Premier League starting this Saturday.