I'm taking this story with a grain of salt considering the source is Sohu. Anyway if true all I have to say to Yao is this. Are you nuts!!???!! Nike originally almost had the contract sealed; in fact they had the contract delivered to Yao Team and Yao Ming. And their endorsement value is far higher than those from Reebok and Addidas. They virtually had Yao ming's verbal consent and nod to sign. But at the last minute, Yao Ming discovered Nike was dishonest and had hidden something from the contract and wanted to cheat him. Yao Ming changed his mind and decided to sign for Reebok. Nike raised the $$$$$$ and returned for a second offer. The second offer was so large that one couldn't have imagined. At that time, Nike already had two superstars Lebron James and Kobe Bryant, but the second offer to Yao Ming was equal to Lebron James + 2/3 of Kobe Bryant. Yao Ming did not waver. He signed for Reebok. In fact, the offer Reebok signed with Yao Ming was only about 40% of Nike's 2nd offer. The Reebok deal also had a condition on whether to extend Yao Ming's contract in the 7th year. And it's not an easy task---in the next 7 years Yao Ming had to appear in the All-Star Game at least 3 times in order to renew the Reebok contract. In contrast, Nike's offer was much higher and without any conditions. Later on, Yao Ming explained his decision for going Reebok. He said: "It's not a matter of money. You can give me less money, but you have to face me honestly." http://sports.sohu.com/2004/02/05/0...218930458.s
Yao is not nuts. That right there is more than enough reason not to sign with them. Yao doesn't care about the money. Especially when Nike tried to get shady with Yao. It all comes down to trust. In business, that plays a huge factor.
5 years ago we knew he went with Reebok over Nike but not why. Now we know something shady happened. As to what that is who knows.
Was it ever discussed? All I remember when Yao went down with his numerous injuries that everyone was saying he should be with Nike. That the Rebooks were killing his feet. I don't recall ever seeing anything about him rejecting the Nike offer.
Well Poprocks This is NO NEWS anymore. It happened in 2004 during the Asian Championship in Harbin. The Sohu link you provided was a dead link and I supposed it was the article in the Yang Yi's bibliography of Yao Ming And how come you're using my full text of the post (every exact wordings) that I posted in Yao Ming Mania and GARM, which I summarized from the Sohu article http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showpost.php?p=3501338&postcount=71 And finally, Yao Ming was not nut to turn down Nike. He just stood by and safeguard his integrity and principle, as Nike thought they could cheat him first, and then wanted to compensate their dishonesty by buying him out with more money.
Is there any proof is that? Although, I will say that Jordans are the most comfortable shoe I ever worn (basketball and casual).
Looks bad on Yao spurning Nike after Nike provided so many jobs for Chinese children. Please don't ban me
This is a old article and everyone know Yao is a man of integrity. The whole deal about Yao's feet isn't the shoes. Reebok are very good shoes. In fact anyone without a shoe deal wear reebok. The problem with Yao and his feet is his size and his poor running technique. At his size, there is always a chance to have feet problems. On his technique, he runs wrong. My wife was a collegiate sprinter and have trained football and basketball guys on how to run. The 1st time she saw Yao run in 02, she said he runs wrong and will have feet problems. He runs on his heels and put a lot of pressure on the ankle,achilies to say the least. Not to mention his size and weight. Its not like he's wearing the old chuck taylors or etonics.
You're WRONG. It looked bad on Nike trying to be dishonest and cheat Yao Ming in first place. And they surely regretted losing out the bid against Reebok and consequently lost alot of market share in China for not being able to extend the contract with Big Yao. Yao Ming just stood firm on his principles and did not bend like willows in front of mighty power of $$$$.
Did you write that? I didn't know. Well, nice work then. Sometimes things get buried on the net and when you find them you think you have found a nugget. Obviously it has been reported before. Sorry. Man it's hard to find worthwhile stuff to discuss in the offseason.
I thought most people ran heel to toe? If that's not the right way to run what is the right way to run????
I wanna see a Yao American Express commercial where he says at the end. Right pair of shoes -$120 Getting through an NBA season uninjured - Priceless
