When pride still matters

Chapter 461 You should call it No. 23

Nike, like Adidas, chose old people as negotiators.

Claude Mouton was at the top of Nike before Jordan became a part of the company, and he watched Jordan bring Nike back from a dying company to the sports merchandise empire it is today.

People who have seen Jordan in his prime have a hard time believing that the same person will appear again.

But Yu Fei’s growth trajectory can be followed.

His legend began with the wizard's pill.

Isn't this a sign from God?
If Michael Jordan is destined to be surpassed, then the person who surpasses him must not only personally organize his retirement ceremony, but also personally watch how his own myth is disintegrated.

Morton had a fetish for Jordan.

Because he was a man who grew up before the age of television, he had seen those pre-television superstars, but what was extraordinary about Jordan was that he was one of the only two black athletes since the founding of the United States to become a crossover hero.

A clear sign is that Jordan, as a black man and a symbol of inferior skin color in the eyes of the top class of American society, transcended racial prejudice and grabbed endorsement contracts from the pockets of middle-class white people that far exceeded those of other white athletes.

Because Jordan's rise almost coincided with the popularity of the cable TV era, it made him the cable world's first great athlete.

This is a perfect combination of personal struggle and historical process.

Who can surpass such a favorable time, place and people?

However, Yu Fei's appearance made Mota shaken.

His handsome appearance surprised many Americans of the older generation, which completely broke the image of Asians in movies and TV dramas. According to a stereotype collectively created by all walks of life in the United States, Asians are either nerds or have small eyes. Cowards, they always look sleazy in movies. However, one day eight years ago, they suddenly heard that an Asian NBA player dared to challenge the God of DC.

For whatever reason, God traded him. Then in less than a year, he performed God's retirement ceremony in DC and announced the arrival of a new era with a championship.

This fills an image that has long been missing for Asian Americans: a hero.

He is not a violent bald figure like Jordan, nor a radical fighter like Ali, nor an ugly duckling like Brady. He represents a typical Asian story. Play hard, get into the NBA as a lottery pick, get bullied, get traded to Milwaukee, and then jump out there and give the world a resounding slap in the face.

Americans never thought they would see an Asian hero knocking the most invincible black force on the basketball court to the ground.

Not long ago, the great Muhammad Ali lamented: "Where have all America's heroes gone? Why can't we see the likes of Bill Russell and Kareem Jabbar now?"

Yu Fei's friend Mark Stein wrote a letter to Ali: "The heroes are still there, but their names are Frye Yu and Tom Brady."

Ali wrote back: "You're right."

This is an era of chaos.

The ruler of the NBA is an Asian with pure blood, and the ruler of the NFL is an underrated person who almost lost the draft.

Yu Fei's narrative on the court is impeccable, and his early bad reputation in the media has been completely reversed through his own efforts and the changes in the outside world.

As his reputation improved, Yu Fei gave the outside world the image of a perfect public figure.

Instinctively knowing how to handle this shocking role - dealing with the media, knowing what to say and what not to say, when to hide and when to go public, always smiling. He was the first athlete of the new era. And, he picked the right sport at the right time. Basketball, a sport invented by white people and dominated by black people, is now dominated by a yellow man.

This is the business opportunity Nike sees in Yu Fei.

Yu Fei is a higher-dimensional existence than Jordan.

Jordan thrived in the black-dominated league and eventually went global with cable television. But what about Yu Fei? He dominated black sports. Jordan cannot inspire all black people, but Yu Fei can inspire all Asians.

This is just like when Jackie Robinson, as a black man, pried open the door to MLB⑴.

⑴Another black crossover hero mentioned above

Now that Twitter has become popular, the coming social media era is a product of a new era that is different from the cable TV era.

Morton didn't know what that meant.

But Nike believes the era of social media will do to The Chosen what the era of cable television did to the Flyers.

Therefore, no matter what the cost, they will try to extract the tooth from the tiger's mouth.

"Fry, I don't mean to disparage Reebok, but I know you know it very well." Morton said, "Nike is still the largest brand in sports. We have decades of accumulation. This is not a pattern that one person can shake. "

Yu Fei looked at him subtly: "What do you want to say?"

"Where you are now is as far as Reebok can go," Morton said. "But Nike can make you the king of the world."

Yu Fei asked: "Don't you already have a king?"

This is a problem that Nike must face in pursuing Yu Fei.

Morton looked embarrassed: "There is a quarantine clause in the contract, and we can guarantee that you will not see LeBron at Nike events."

"Is this too much? I don't want to isolate LeBron, it's unfair to him." Yu Fei said with an almost invisible smile on his face, "If you really like him, you should continue to surround him. To spread the word, if you guys want me to join Nike, that's what you need to deal with."

Nike executives have already foreseen this scenario.

But it is impossible for them to make any statement before Yu Fei shows any willingness to join. "As long as you agree, we will give you a satisfactory explanation."

"Does your so-called confession mean that you are legally severing all ties between Nike and LeBron?"

Morton looked embarrassed: "You know, I can't say."

He couldn't say it, but the reason why he didn't say it was because once his answer spread, it would cause a devastating blow to the relationship between Nike and the James camp.

"What if I have to know that answer?"

Yu Fei asked softly.

"As long as everything goes well," Morton said, "you'll get what you want."

Hearing this, Yu Fei smiled at the people around him.

It was a smile that represented victory.

Nike will end James' contract early for him.

This may be of greater significance than the negotiation itself. Yu Fei stopped talking, and the next step was the agent's job.

Arne Tram took over and asked: "Tell me about your contract. Since you want Fry to jump ship, I think you must have prepared a very sincere contract."

Morton nodded to the contract experts accompanying him.

Subsequently, Nike's camp presented their contract.

In terms of amount, it's not big.

Nike provided Yu Fei with a six-year, US$6 million contract, which was significantly lower than Adidas' six-year, US$2 million contract.

However, they promised to redesign the brand for Yu Fei.

Yu Fei not only has the leadership of the brand, but will also receive 15% of the profit dividend every year.

In other words, Nike actually added all the money that should be reflected in the contract amount to profit sharing.

With Nike's product strength and Yu Fei's own ability to carry goods, the annual profit dividend of 15% will be an income much higher than the endorsement fee.

"Okay, we'll seriously consider it."

After saying this, Trem put on the posture of seeing off guests.

This is the last thing Nike wants to see.

To say that they are tempted, Yu Fei’s camp is definitely tempted by this contract, but will they leave Reebok because of this? No, their contracts will only serve as a tool to raise prices.

But at this point, they have no initiative.

Motta and Nike's contract specialist left.

Lin Kaiwen asked: "What are the quotations from the two companies?"

"Unexpectedly generous," Trim corrected, "No, I should say, more generous than imagined."

Although it was not his own contract, Lin Kaiwen's appetite was whetted: "How generous?"

"Adidas is willing to give 10% profit dividend every year, and Nike is willing to give 15%." Traim said concisely.

Endorsement fees are trivial, that’s the key.

Kevin Lin knew that Reebok earned nearly 20 billion U.S. dollars through the "Chosen" brand last year. Although it is not comparable to AJ's 37 billion U.S. dollars, you must know that this is a product that was just born 8 years ago.

"What's the dividend on the 23rd?" Yu Fei suddenly asked.

"That's why I say they are generous." Traim said, "In 2003, Michael exchanged the shares given by Nike that year for an annual 5.5% dividend of the AJ brand profits."

For those in the flying camp, this is another thing where No. 44 is better than No. 23, which is something to be happy about.

Kevin Lin said bluntly: "I think the negotiation with Reebok is very simple. For endorsement fees, we want Adidas' figures, and for annual profit dividends, we want Nike's figures."

"Kevin, you are an excellent question maker." Trem praised.

"Fry, what do you think?"

Lin Kaiwen looked at Yu Fei.

"You are all right, but Arn, you seem to have forgotten one thing."

"what's up?"

"There is no Michael here." Yu Fei corrected seriously, "You should call it No. 23."

(End of this chapter)