An expired apparel and sneaker deal for a Bulgarian tennis player who has never passed the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam event doesn’t on its face suggest much in the way of controversy.
But Adidas and Nike are duking it out over which firm has won the right to dress Grigor Dimitrov on court — and the answer should swing the agent commission on the deal to either his old, mainline agency or to his new, upstart representation.
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Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov is ranked 15th in the world.
Photo by: GETTY IMAGES
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Part of the race to sign Dimitrov is clearly a bet on who after the big four of men’s tennis — Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray — is the next big thing.
Dimitrov, nicknamed “Baby Fed” for the hype touting him as the next Federer — and who perhaps is even better known publicly as Maria Sharapova’s boyfriend — had a deal with Nike that sources said gave the brand the right to match any new contract offer. And that’s what happened in recent weeks, except Dimitrov’s camp is disputing whether the match is really a match from a deal proposed by Adidas, sources said.
Adidas declined to comment. Nike did not respond to requests for comment.
Adidas and Nike are even on money, the sources said: a bit more than $1 million guaranteed annually. Adidas, the sources said, is offering Dimitrov an apparel line in his name and touting that he can sell patch space on his shirt, something Nike contracts prohibit (though it did make an exception for Li Na).
Some top players can bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars from patches, though the market might be limited for Dimitrov unless he breaks through in a big way on the court.
“The value of Dimitrov’s patches are pretty much insignificant,” said Fernando Soler, head of tennis at IMG, which previously employed Dimitrov’s current agent, Tony Godsick. “He comes from a country that is not very strong sponsorship-wise.”
It’s also unclear how valuable a personal apparel line for a player like Dimitrov is, unless he were to win several Grand Slams. He is ranked 15th in the ATP World Tour rankings, and his quarterfinal appearance at this year’s Australian Open was his first time past the third round of a Grand Slam since turning pro in 2008.
Godsick split from IMG two years ago, taking his star client, Federer, with him. Last year, Godsick launched the agency Team8 and has signed as clients Juan Martin Del Potro and Dimitrov.
Godsick could not be reached for comment.
Customarily with apparel contracts in tennis, if a player renews with the company within five years of signing the original contract, the new commission stays with the agent who scored the initial deal. In this case, that would be Octagon, which three years ago negotiated the Nike contract for Dimitrov. If Dimitrov were to sign with Adidas, the commission would flow to Team8.
An Octagon representative did not return an inquiry seeking comment.
