578: 208: The God Slayers are here!
(Asking for monthly votes!) 578: 208: The God Slayers are here!
(Asking for monthly votes!) After the All-Star Game, Roger took some time to visit Oregon, the global headquarters of Reebok.
There, Roger attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Reebok office building named after him.
On that day, Reebok’s executives had set up a dinner in Roger’s honor.
Before the dinner started, in a private office, Roger was smoking cigars, drinking whiskey, and chatting with a group of men who held the fate of the Reebok brand in their hands.
Present were Roger’s agent, Eric Fleisher, Reebok’s Basketball Division President Todd Krinsky, Reebok’s CEO Carl Yankowski, and the real authority, the company’s owner Paul Fireman.
All were top-tier executives.
Paul Fireman personally lit a cigar for Roger, then mocked Nike in a joking tone, “I bet Nike is now wishing they could send Anfernee Hardaway to the comic book world to get a shot of that superhero serum.
Or better yet, they are surely dying to develop a time machine to go back to the summer of 1993.”
When it came to signing Roger five years ago, Paul Fireman felt extremely fortunate.
Because that was a great signing that changed the fate of the entire brand.
In the 1980s, with the success in the fitness and running shoe markets, Reebok reaped both male and female users.
To the trendy women of the ’80s, Reebok was their own Lululemon.
On these two tracks, Reebok once became the most profitable sports brand in the world,
With the sponsorship of the NBA, NFL, and NHL, the three major competitive sports, Reebok’s global influence peaked, putting Adidas and Nike to the ground.
But Nike’s all-in signing changed the entire sports brand ecosystem.
Year after year since 1988, the gap between Reebok and Nike grew, with the star effect exemplified to perfection by Michael Jordan.
Since then, all major sports brands have been splurging on star endorsements.
The technology and design of the sneakers are important, but without a superstar endorser, you would be completely at a disadvantage in marketing.
So Paul Fireman always felt proud whenever he saw Roger, because Nike could have had Roger, but those fools missed their chance to seize fate.
“Even with a superhero serum, Penny is just Penny, and can’t change his worth.
Roger, you’re different, we understand your value,” Carl Yankowski said as he raised his glass, ready to get to the point.
This meeting, and the ribbon-cutting ceremony, were secondary; Reebok’s main goal was to negotiate a new contract with Roger in advance.
In another six months, the five-year contract Roger signed with Reebok would expire.
To say that time flew by would be an understatement.
In five years, the NBA had undergone earth-shattering changes.
Michael Jordan had become a thing of the past, and the 1998 All-Star Game had made it clear that Roger was now the biggest gold mine in the world of basketball, and any brand that got him could change their situation.
Reebok absolutely could not let such an endorser slip away.
Roger took a sip of the whiskey in his glass, indicating his stance, “I have no doubts about this, we will actively negotiate a renewal with Reebok.”
After speaking, Roger glanced at Fleisher, signaling that it was his turn to talk.
Eric Fleisher, having received the signal, immediately spoke up, “Roger’s value is well known, and any brand that has the opportunity to have him would offer him a lifetime contract straight away.”
A few Reebok executives exchanged glances, and Paul Fireman smiled and nodded, “Of course, that’s exactly what we want.”
A lifetime contract means an athlete is completely bound with a brand.
Such a contract allows for an even closer cooperation between the two parties.
And ensures the greatest security for both the brand and the athlete.
But to sign a lifetime contract with a star athlete comes at a cost.
Paul Fireman tentatively asked, “Eric, what do you think should be the figure for Roger’s lifetime contract?”
Eric Fleisher leaned forward with a smile, “When we talk about Roger, we can’t use ordinary standards to measure.
Most players his age are still being called stars of hope, but Roger?
He’s already dominating the league.
For such a player, ordinary contract figures are meaningless.”
Paul Fireman got the message, Roger wanted a sales dividend!
Michael Jordan had this type of partnership with Nike.
Without a doubt, this is the contract that every sports brand is reluctant to sign.
Endorsement fees are straightforward; you just give the athlete a sum of money, like a dowry.
But a sales dividend is like having to hand over your salary every month.
It’s a bottomless pit; you have to keep pouring money into this hole every year, even if the athlete has retired.
But Reebok had no choice.
No choice, that’s almost the foundation on which all dividend contracts are established.
In the original history, after Nike and Jordan, the only player to receive brand dividends was Stephen Curry.
Because Under Armour had no choice, to give up on Curry was almost equivalent to directly disappearing from the basketball market.
Reebok now also had no choice, although they still had super-popular stars like AI, but Reebok knew very well, if they let Roger go to Adidas or Nike, it would be tantamount to self-destruction.
Just take a look at what the league is like now.
Hakeem Olajuwon was 35 years old; he was almost unlikely to compete for the best first team position, which already belonged to Shaq.
Just this past February, this great center, who used to go head-to-head with Roger in the playoffs, had four games where he didn’t score in the double digits.