NBA Draft prospect Ben Simmons has agreed to a five-year deal with Nike worth $12M, and the pact is "right in line" with the $11M deal top pick Andrew Wiggins signed with adidas in '14, according to Nick DePaula of THE VERTICAL. adidas was "hoping to persuade Simmons with his own marketing plan and his own distinct path." Sources said that the company "offered a shoe deal potentially worth considerably more than Nike." adidas in May made a pitch to Simmons and "the message was clear: Come to adidas and build your own personal brand. Deliver on court and possibly even get your own signature shoe." The adidas offer began at $10M over five years, with a $2M signing bonus and a $1M "bonus for winning" Rookie of the Year. Then the offer "was upped" to $17M over five years, "with the bonuses still on the table." Meanwhile, Nike's initial offer "began much lower" at $7.5M over five years. But after the NBA Draft lottery "locked in" the 76ers and Lakers at the first and second picks, Nike increased its offer to $12M over five years, "with incentives valued much lower than adidas’." Sources said that a "key difference in the offers" was that Simmons "would have owned a 'rollover clause' in the adidas deal, but not with Nike." If Simmons were to win ROY and the subsequent $1M bonus, his second-year base number with adidas "would've rolled over that additional million and landed" at $4.4M. Sources said that Simmons' family "was torn throughout the process." Nike also "touted its upcoming NBA partnership" that begins in '17 and "will allow the brand to include players in uniform in its advertising." Simmons "played for a Nike-sponsored high school" and wore Cavaliers F LeBron James' Nike sneakers "in his lone season at LSU" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/7).
