Russell Westbrook. Jimmy Butler. Blake Griffin. Chris Paul.
And now Zion Williamson has joined them as a Jordan Brand athlete. Williamson announced that he had signed with Jordan on his Instagram.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B0RBY9NlIvE/?utm_source=ig_embed
Williamson was probably the biggest shoe free agent on the market this summer. While still a rookie, he already is a huge marketing presence — Summer League in Las Vegas sold out to see him the first two nights (people ended up disappointed) — and it was estimated he would make north of $10 million a year on his rookie shoe deal.
While we have not heard official numbers yet, the rumors are he did get that money.
Zion’s sneaker deal is 7 years, $75-million, one source says. https://t.co/bddwtHaHHm
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) July 23, 2019
If true, this is the second-largest rookie shoe deal in history. LeBron James got seven-years, $87 million, however, Williamson is second and bumps Kevin Durant to third (seven years, $60 million).
There are rumors Puma had offered even a larger contact, but Williamson wanted to be a Jordan brand guy.
Sources say Zion Williamson had offers bigger than the Jordan deal. Left money on the table for his dream of wearing the logo of his favorite player.
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) July 23, 2019
“I feel incredibly blessed to be a part of the Jordan Brand family,” Williamson said in a statement. “Since I was a kid, I dreamed of making it to the league & having the type of impact on the game Michael Jordan had & continues to have today. He was one of those special athletes I looked up to.”
“Zion’s incredible determination, character and play are inspiring,” Michael Jordan said in a statement. “He’s an essential part of the new talent that will help lead the brand into the future. He told us he would ‘shock the world,’ and asked us to believe him. We do.”
Nike continues to dominate the NBA and basketball shoe market, with more than two-thirds of NBA players wearing Nikes. Even still, landing Williamson — who will play for the New Orleans Pelicans — was such a big score that Nike stock jumped up one percent on the news. He has the potential to be the next LeBron or Durant for Nike, if he can live up to the hype and weight of being the most discussed No. 1 pick in a decade.
He’s the kind of player who could sell a lot of shoes, and Jordan is betting on just that.