Nike simply couldn’t afford to turn their backs on the reigning MVP.
The high-stakes moneybags battle between Nike and Under Amour for the league’s top scorer ended Sunday when the swoosh matched Under Amour’s gigantic offer for OKC‘s Kevin Durant.
Nike exercised its contractual obligation and matched Under Amour’s offer for KD which sources say was somewhere in the vicinity between $265 million and $285 million.
So in the end Nike gets to keep their man with an endorsement deal for the ages. “The overall value of Durant’s deal with Nike could hit $300 million or more if his business continues to rise. That number is flexible as he will get a royalty on all sales in his line,” ESPN reports.
The deal reportedly runs through 2024. The famously low-key Durant says he is “excited and humbled” to re-sign. LeBron James was a tad more effusive, welcoming KD back to the Nike stable with this tweet, “Happy to have the homie @KDTrey5 stayin with the @Nike @nikebasketball family! Congrats my brother! Like Dj Khalid would say “We The Best”!!.”
But it got us thinking. Who’s got the best-selling shoes in the game? A few names come to mind: LeBron Raymone James, a certain Black Mamba also known as Kobe Bryant, maybe Melo man, Carmelo Anthony. We could even throw in the high-flying Blake Griffin.
According to reports, last year, James saw his shoes retail at a whopping $300 million in the United States.
Durant comes in second racking up $175 million in U.S. shoe sales. Kobe came in a distant third with $50 million in sales, but their sales all pale in comparison to the man many believe to be the G.O.A.T.
Find out who has the top-selling sneaker on the next page…
Turns out the baller with the best- selling shoes hasn’t played a pro game in 11 years. Jordan may own an NBA court these days, but he hasn’t laced up to play on one professionally since his days as a Wizard, but his sneaks are still No. 1.
“Today’s NBA stars are all still looking up at the man who started the basketball shoe craze three decades ago.
Michael Jordan joined Nike in 1984 with a five-year contract worth $500,000 a year plus royalties. Nike outfitted him in red and black Air Jordans, which the NBA fined Jordan $5,000 a game (and later banned the shoes) for not matching the Bulls’ uniforms. Nike paid the fines and ran with the publicity around the ban. Jordan became a shoe-selling juggernaut fueled by six titles with the Bulls.”The Jordan brand remains unstoppable. U.S. retail sales hit $2.25 billion last year, up 12.5% versus 2012 for its shoes. Forbes says MJ controlled more than 50% of the U.S. basketball shoe market in 2013. And those retro Jordan shoes make up about half of Jordan Brand sales.
If MJ parked Brand Jordan it would still take James 10 years to catch up. Run, LeBron, run. Don’t give up. We know it’s tough. But somebody’s got to do it.
For the curious out there, here’s the complete top eight list of the game’s highest sneaker sellers as posted by Forbes and tabulated by Sports one Source.
U.S. Retail Basketball Shoe Sales
- LeBron James (Nike): $300 million
- Kevin Durant (Nike): $175 million
- Kobe Bryant (Nike): $50 million
- Derrick Rose (Adidas): $40 million
- Carmelo Anthony (Jordan): $30 million
- Chris Paul (Jordan): $30 million
- John Wall (Adidas): $5 million
- Dwight Howard (Adidas): $5 million
Source: SportsOneSource