Excuse me while I go puke... WASHINGTON (AP) -- Thirteen-year-old soccer prodigy Freddy Adu agreed to a $1 million contract with Nike, The Washington Post reported Monday. Adu, already an offensive star on the U.S. under-17 national team, also has agreed to be represented by SportsNet, LLC. Arnold Tarzay, a lawyer and family adviser, did not confirm the amount of the deal to the Post, which cited sources for the worth of the multiyear contract. The paper said Adu is not likely to sign a pro contract for at least a year. Nike spokeswoman Celeste Alleyne did not comment to The Associated Press. A call to a representative of the U.S. under-17 team was not immediately returned. The agreement comes less than a week after Nike signed high school phenom LeBron James, the expected No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, to an endorsement contract worth more than $90 million. Adu would become ineligible for NCAA soccer with this deal, but he does not plan to play in college. A native of Ghana, Adu came to the United States when he was 8 and has been training with the national team in Bradenton, Fla. He became a citizen in February. Adu played for the under-17 team that lost to Mexico 2-1 on Sunday and beat Costa Rica 3-2 on Monday in Lancaster, Calif.
this is good! the youth today is gettin involved in sports rather than drugs! good for him! i wish him the best!
Well, Poor Ghetto People don't play soccer. We only have problems with poor ghetto people who play basketball.
Big soccer fan here who had never heard about this guy until about a month ago - doh. He just got his US citizenship - hoo- freakin' -ray. He's living at the IMG sports camp [think Nick Bolletieri] in Florida with the u-17 nat'l team kids. He's about 5-8 135 lbs., he's a great kid, mature, happy go lucky, he's reeeeeally bright - due to graduate an accelerated HS program a coupla years early. By my recollection from all the stories I've read, by June 2005, it's projected that Adu will be 15 yrs old and have his HS diploma. He wants to then join the MLS and play until he's 18 - where he'll then look to cash in with some big European club. His mom gets calls from all over the world from the best soccer clubs offering millions to come join their farm system. He's wanting to play in the next Olympics with the u-23's and the next WC for the full US Nat'l team. He's said to be the second coming of Pele. I've sought out footage of him on the web. From what I've read and the few snippets I've seen - he ... is ... incredible. Quick like bunny, ball just rides his foot wherever he wants to go, powerful quick shot, field vision - one play I saw he spooned a ball at the top of the box with perfect weight high to his opposite shoulder whereupon he flipped over and biked a shot at the lower left post that the goalie really had to be on his toes to save - it was like those soccer dreams you have - one touch control to a bike - sick. When the MLS teams play training matches against the u-17 team, Freddy tools on them, leaving them shaking their heads. The only real controversy surrounding him is his true age. West African parents [ghana] have been known to fudge their children's age in order to get them advantages in life - but there seems to be plenty of evidence to back his claims up. Really exciting if you're a soccer fan. He might someday be the best in the world ... and he's allllll ours. here's a good article about him
If anybody's interested, here's an old thread that contains a handful of links to stories and videos of Adu. Link
A happy correction - Freddy will be a HS graduate and 15 yrs old NEXT june - 2004 not 2005, my bad. He'll be in Europe at the u-17 WC this August I think - watch for news about him and the team. A happy note - he's got a little brother a coupla years behind him who ain't bad either. And more photos -
Thx arkoe, I didn't know about the previous thread. You can order videos of his US u-17 games by going ... HERE
I hope he's successful, but all the $1 million Nike deal tells me is that Nike think he can sell them some stuff. Until he gets a big money deal from a club to actually play, then we won't really know his potential. In fact, there won't really be any way to tell for several years. The U-17 championship won't tell you very much, since the majority of decent European players that age are unlikely to be there. Affiliation with professional teams happens a lot younger here, and those clubs spend big money on training and their youth teams. Wayne Rooney for example, (16 yo prodigy from the UK) will be playing with his professional club. In fact, he's already in the senior England team. They wouldn't let him anywhere near the U17s. If you really want to see this kid develop, it's in his best interests to sign with a big Euro club sooner rather than later. The downside of a deal like this, at his age, is that the pressure being put on him at that age is way too much. I hope he can keep a level head, and good advisors around him.
