Fila USA has signed a "tentative" five-year deal with 76ers
1st round pick Jerry Stackhouse, according to Timothy Mullaney of
the Baltimore SUN. The deal, which Fila gained over rivals
Nike, Reebok, and Converse, will have Stackhouse endorsing
sneakers and athletic clothing. Although terms were not
disclosed, sources told the SUN it was larger than the $7.5M,
five-year deal Fila reached with Jamal Mashburn in '93. The deal
marks the third straight year that Fila has signed one of the top
four picks in the NBA Draft, following Mashburn and Grant Hill.
Fila USA VP/Advertising Howe Burch: "It will become Filadelphia
now." Stackhouse's agent, Lee Fentress, said Fila plans to
follow last year's launch of a Hill shoe "with similarly heavy
promotion" of Stackhouse and his own line, including his own
signature shoe, next winter. Fentress: "Everything (at Fila) is
on the upswing." Nike spokesperson Tom Feuer: "I think Fila got
him because they offered more money than anybody else." Mullaney
writes that Fila endorsers have "friendly public personae that
the company can contrast with Nike's rougher edged endorsers,"
such as Charles Barkley and Dennis Rodman (Baltimore SUN, 8/18).
