adidas has offered Rockets G James Harden a 13-year, $200M shoe contract, and Nike "has until the end of next week to match the deal or lose him," according to sources cited by Darren Rovell of ESPN.com. Nike's deal with Harden "recently expired." adidas has "slipped in recent years due to a lack of individual basketball stars." Bulls G Derrick Rose has been injured a large majority of the time since signing a 14-year deal with adidas in '12, and G Damian Lillard's Trail Blazers "aren't really showing much promise." Wizards G John Wall has "plenty of flash," but his first signature adidas line "fell relatively flat this year." With Warriors G Stephen Curry and Thunder F Kevin Durant locked up by Under Armour and Nike, respectively, Harden "is the only veteran that Adidas could poach -- even if that means overpaying." Harden, who has yet to have a signature shoe, is in the "upper echelon of marketable stars," in part due to his beard. There also is "international hope for Harden, as the Rockets already are very popular in China" thanks to former NBAer Yao Ming. Sources said that part of adidas' offer "has to do with the potential for the masses to embrace Harden on [an] even greater scale if the Rockets can make more of a splash in the playoffs in the coming years" (ESPN.com, 8/3).
NIKE NOT SITTING ON THE SIDELINES: SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL's Daniel Kaplan reports Nike’s financial obligations to "sports teams, leagues, associations, colleges and athletes reached nearly $6.2 billion as of May 31," an increase of 32% over the year-ago period. As pressure "builds from Under Armour and from an Adidas push to spend more on sports marketing, Nike has been ramping up more than ever." Between May 31, 2013-May 31, 2015, Nike’s "commitments in this area surged 72 percent, or nearly $2.6 billion" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, 8/3 issue).
