Thunder F Kevin Durant on Thursday said that he has "signed a partnership deal" with Oklahoma City-based Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt, according to Cliff Brunt of the AP. Durant will "own an undisclosed percentage of the company, his first such partnership" since he joined Roc Nation Sports last year. Orange Leaf has "321 stores in 40 states, four in Australia and 69 under construction." Durant is Orange Leaf's "first brand ambassador." Orange Leaf CEO Reese Travis attended Durant's NBA MVP award ceremony and said, "When I walked out of that room, there was a sense of pride that we were in the process of creating a partnership with Kevin Durant." Brunt noted Durant since winning the MVP award has "re-signed with Nike, Sprint and BBVA Compass, added deals with Orange Leaf and Sparkling Ice and was named the cover athlete for NBA 2K15." Roc Nation President & Chief Strategy Officer Michael Yormark said that more partnerships "are in the works, and his goal is to get Durant more deals than any NBA player." He said that "much of the extra attention has been a direct result of the way he handled being named MVP." Yormark said Durant's MVP acceptance speech "created a sense of urgency with many of the brands that we were talking to, to move forward in a meaningful way and develop a relationship with Kevin" (AP, 9/4).
DEAL DETAILS: In Portland, Matthew Kish cited a source as saying that Nike "actually offered less" to Durant than Under Armour for his services. The source said that the deal "offers less in annual base compensation" than UA's reported $265-285M offer, but has a "higher potential value for Durant based on Nike's ability to generate royalties through the sale of Durant's signature shoe and related merchandise." Durant's willingness to "take less in annual base compensation signals his allegiance to the Nike brand and his belief in its business model, important distinctions in the hyper-competitive world of athlete endorsements" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 9/5).
