NBA's King of Talking

Chapter 242 Nike's Huge Contract

After Jeff Schwartz's party ended, Jia Fei immediately organized his friends to start training.

Their training camp is in New York. The main reason for choosing this location is that it's convenient for training, and there are also many places to have fun after training.

Playing in the NBA is a job, and some people treat it as a career, but living an ascetic life is unrealistic. Humans have emotions and desires, and need the stimulation of dopamine. If we can't find happiness, what's the point of living?

Some people say I could make sacrifices! The problem is, my awareness isn't high enough to do that. So, there's nothing wrong with enjoying life to the fullest.

Those who participated in the training camp organized by Jia Fei and his team included Jia Fei, Kemba Walker, Jeremy Lamb, Art Mayok, Shabazz Napier, Reggie Jackson, Kyle Korver, Marvin Williams, Cody Zeller, Al Jefferson, Demar Carroll, and Kent Cupcat.

Napier is also a graduate of UConn, where he was Kemba Walker's backup. In the recently concluded NBA draft, he was selected 24th overall in the first round by the Charlotte Hornets and immediately traded to the Miami Heat.

Napier was a prominent figure at UConn, leading the team to the championship during March Madness this year and earning himself the Most Outstanding Player award. However, as an older rookie without extraordinary physical talent, he ultimately failed to make the lottery.

The training was proceeding smoothly, and the pleasant atmosphere allowed everyone to immerse themselves in the training, which was quite comfortable.

Meanwhile, Jeff Schwartz was reporting to Jia Fei about the shoe endorsement contract. Nike and Adidas are currently engaged in a final battle, both vying for the signature of this Chinese-American basketball prodigy. His current popularity and potential future success make this a highly coveted prize for both giants.

Not long ago, Portland Trail Blazers' rising star Damian Lillard signed a 10-year, $1 million endorsement deal with Adidas, which shocked the league.

Prior to this, Nike had made a series of moves to acquire young talents such as Wall, Irving, and Anthony Davis, so Adidas quickly spent a huge sum of money to snatch Lillard first.

Other endorsement contracts, such as the 13-year, $1.85 million deal Rose signed with Adidas in 2012, also amounted to over $1000 million per year.

Kyrie Irving signed a 7-year, $7700 million contract with Nike this year, with an average annual amount higher than Damian Lillard's.

As for Kevin Durant, he renewed his contract with Nike this summer, signing a super contract worth $3 million over 10 years. His first contract with Nike was a 6-year, $6000 million deal.

The Running Man cast received a massive 7-year, $9000 million contract with Nike in their rookie season, marking their peak right from the start.

The biggest suspense this summer is what kind of endorsement contract Jia Fei, who is at the peak of his career, will sign—Adidas or Nike?

Previously rumored endorsements from AJ Jordan and Under Armour have both fallen through. Everyone understands Jordan's decision to drop him; he looked down on Jia Fei, and now he's practically out of his league. Jia Fei's endorsement contract is definitely no less than Lillard's.

As time went on, Nike had essentially won; the remaining issue was the total contract amount and length. Nike wanted Jia Fei to sign a contract for at least 10 years, while Jia Fei didn't want it to be that long.

Jeff Schwartz agreed with Jia Fei's point of view because Jia Fei is still in the rising phase of his career and has the potential to become a face of the league in the future. The difference in contract size between signing him then and signing him now would be significant.

After some negotiation, Jia Fei finally signed a six-year contract with Nike worth a total of $120 million!

This contract surpasses that of all current young players, except for a few like James and Durant, other young players cannot even come close.

Nike officially released videos and photos of Jia Fei's signing ceremony and announced that it will immediately develop a signature shoe for Jia Fei, which is expected to be released before the start of the new season.

The news of Jia Fei's high-profile signing with Nike caused a public uproar...

Renowned critic Charles Barkley stated, "Nike will definitely regret this decision today. In pursuit of the Asian market, they completely ignored the fact that basketball performance speaks for itself on the court."

When Scottie Pippen, Jordan's longtime teammate, appeared on Barkley's show, he said, "The NBA has officially entered an era of inflation. If I were playing in this era, I could sign a $3000 million shoe contract for a year!"

Dr. J Julius Erving said, "Jia Fei is only 22 years old. He was selected as an All-Star starter this season, made the All-NBA Team and the All-Defensive Team, and led a short-handed and underestimated team to the Eastern Conference Finals. He deserves this contract."

The outside world was buzzing with discussion, but Jia Fei wasn't surprised at all. He'd landed a big contract, and it was perfectly normal for some to be envious and others jealous. Even if many people questioned it, so what? Would it reduce the amount in my contract? Would I get less money?

Jia Fei immediately treated the brothers in the training camp to a big meal and also invited them to have fun in New York, throwing a party at Kemba Walker's house.

Alone Better Together!

Training days always fly by, and before we knew it, it was August...

By mid-August, Jia Fei and his group's training camp had ended, and after a grand party, everyone went their separate ways.

After the party, Jia Fei, Kemba Walker, and Lamb went with Art Mayok to his hometown in Sudan.

Sudan is located in northeastern Africa, on the coast of the Red Sea, at the eastern end of the Sahara Desert, and is the third largest country in Africa.

Sudan is full of black people (that's obvious), and they really are black from head to toe, completely black. Jia Fei had never set foot on the African continent before, and seeing them, he felt that Principal Gu was really, really white.

“My hometown is very poor, and many children here have never been to school. Basketball players like me who earn US dollars in the United States are considered very remarkable here!” Art Mayork couldn’t help but exclaim.

Jia Fei knew that poverty and backwardness were common problems in many African countries. The children here were all so thin and had such poor complexions; it was clearly not because they were constantly dieting, but because they weren't getting enough to eat.

Jia Fei remembered that when he was a child in his previous life, his father told him that the feeling of being hungry was really unpleasant. He didn't want to experience days of not having enough to eat, so he cherished the life he had now.

Jia Fei and his team's trip to Africa made him realize the enormous gap between the United States and Sudan; it was hard to imagine that these were two countries from the same world. You wouldn't believe how poor and underdeveloped it could be until you've been there. But it's all true.