NBA Draft prospect G Ja Morant signed a "multiyear, multimillion dollar footwear and apparel endorsement deal with Nike" earlier this month prior to the NBA Draft Lottery, according to Nick DePaula of ESPN.com. Morant after turning pro last month "insisted on not even meeting or engaging with any other brands during the negotiation process." Sources said that the contract was "agreed to in advance" of the May 14 Draft Lottery. If he is drafted at No. 2 in June, "as many expect," Morant would make $8.72M during his rookie season. Sources at rival brands "worry that as NBA rookie scale contracts continue to exponentially escalate at the top of the board, players will be less swayed to sign away from Nike over a few hundred thousand dollars difference per year between company offers." Meanwhile, Morant's father, Tee, was a high school teammate of Basketball HOFer Ray Allen, and rather than "sit through a series of presentations and meetings with prospective agents before declaring" for the Draft, the Morant family "trusted Allen's advice to sign with his longtime agent," Tandem Sports & Entertainment President Jim Tanner (ESPN.com, 5/27). USA TODAY's Scott Gleeson noted Morant is the "first to sign" among fellow top-three projected picks Fs Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett, both of whom are also "expected to sign mega deals" (USATODAY.com, 5/27).
