C'mon, since he's contract expires with Nike at the end of the season.... would Yao look better in three stripes or the same old swooshes.... If Nike can offer Serena Williams US$50Mn, what can they cough up for Yao, who obviously has more global reach than anybody else at present...... OUTFITTER OF YAO
On SI: "Then, too, big men are often a tough sell, particularly in the shoe market, which historically has kicked NBA players into the endorsement stratosphere. Shaq's killer smile, which mitigates an on-court image of pure bullishness, has helped him shill successfully for Burger King, Nestle and Radio Shack, but the Big Willy Loman hasn't made as much of a splash for Starter shoes. Nike admits that of the big men who have been in its stable, only Garnett was a reliable shoe salesman--and he subsequently bolted for And 1. Nike is enthusiastic about Yao ("Nothing in my 12-month plan is more important than getting Yao signed," says Ralph Greene, the company's global director of basketball) but is not panting over him ("There's always a question of how promotional hype, which Yao has, translates to shoe sales," says Greene). The best guess is that Yao will be hard-pressed to get a seven-figure shoe contract. (The prospective value of LeBron James's first shoe deal has been estimated at $ 5 million per year, and Bryant's new deal may be worth three times that.) " I wonder if this means Yao will make 5 times less than Lebron James and 15 times less than Kobe.
I would like to see Yao be with Nike throughout his NBA career. And it has nothing to do with money, image, or any kind of commercialism whatsoever. It has to do with longevity. I have tried Nike, Reebok, Fila, etc..etc..etc.... I never buy more than one pair of any other brand except Nike. The reason I always go back to them is cushioning. None of the other top brands seem to be as comfortable as Nike's. It's probably because of the "Air" pockets they have become so famous for. IMO, Nike has the most support/cushioning under the foot than the other brands. We all know that really tall big men have a proportionately higher amount of foot injuries than their smaller counterparts. I just want Yao to wear the best shoe to protect his feet from the pounding they will absorb throughout his career. And I think Nike's have the best cushioning(on the whole).
Whoever gets Yao, his shoe will sale like crazy in China since he is national hero there. Nike is goning to have a problem if the number is not right. I would bet you Nike will ever like to lose out on this. Especially with the Olympics in 2008.
people in china may be proud of yao, but they certainly don't want to be like him. as seen in this quote in time magazine: "This is not to say that the young Sharks wish they were Yao. "They all want to be Kobe," Ma says. "None of the big guys' shoes sell well here." Ma contends....." selling shoes in china is the same as selling shoes in the US, get a high flying shooting guard who can defy gravity. yao's a center. not everybody can be a center and not everybody can be 7 foot 6. most people are 6 foot something and they will aspire to be like kobe. you know allen iverson is the most popular player in japan. and kobe's probably the most popular in china. you want to sell shoes in china, forget yao and sign kobe.
None of the big guy's shoe sells well because NONE of them has real BBall skills. I want to be like Yao because of his skills, NOT his height. His commercial value includes both height and skill. That is unique. When I see Shaq, I only think of size, I do not ever want to be like him because all he does is banging people with brutal force. I am sure a lot of guy just likes his brutal force, but I like skill and beauty of BBall.
This thread should be titled, Yao's next double double? We're in the middle of a tight playoff race and people are talking about Yao's next damn endorsements. We're about making the playoffs here not prognosticating his next damn commercial.
you want to be like yao because of his skills? , but his skills are not as entertaining as kobe. so kobe wins.
Kobe's play is spectacular. But he is also selfish, immature and arrogant. I do NOT like him because of his image not his skill. I want to be like Yao because of his pass, team play and personality. It is fun to watch him play (of course, when his teammates are playing team game), not Shaq.
He needs to sign with Hanes... I know I'd go out buy some underwear after seeing a 7'5 chinese guy in a pair of boxer shorts...
