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Marketing and Sponsorship

Kyrie Irving Signs Multiyear Deal With PSD Underwear That Includes Equity Stake

Cavaliers G Kyrie Irving will be the new face of PSD Underwear after signing a multiyear deal that includes an equity stake in the company. The company will use Irving in video ads on social media pages, along with in stores that PSD is sold in, like Champs Sports and Footaction. The former NBA All-Star Game MVP has already started posting images of PSD on social networks and will be releasing videos in August. PSD Founder & co-Owner Curt Flaitz said Irving’s reps “saw this as an opportunity.” “They know Kyrie loves the brand and thought, ‘Let’s make it a partnership instead of an endorsement,’” Flaitz said. “Once an endorsement deal ends, the checks stop and that’s it. So it’s nice that he can be with this company for 10-plus years and keep going.” Irving also will be a designer for the company, with a new collection of PSD products coming out each season. Flaitz stressed the company is not going to use Irving as a “male model” in advertisements. “A lot of the things are going to be themed as the day in the life of Kyrie Irving,” Flaitz said. “We’re going to use it as the stages of (Kyrie’s) life, stages of his day. These (his PSD’s) are what you put on in the morning and are taking off at night.” He noted that Irving was a bit of a “trendsetter” inside the Cavaliers’ locker room this season, as PSD products became popular with other players, including LeBron James, after Irving began wearing them.

MORE ON THE HORIZON: Irving is not the only athlete PSD is working with, as the company has a deal with Seahawks RB Marshawn Lynch and his Beast Mode brand, which will be launching in a few months. Flaitz credits Chargers WR Stevie Johnson for bringing the brand to the sport. “Stevie Johnson has been an O.G. fashion icon, and he’s been wearing the brand also," Flaitz said. "He was the first one in the NFL to really support the brand, so he’s a very big friend of the brand.”

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