Today at lunch I listened to the guys talk about Yao's contract with the Chinese govt. <b>Who knows the deals?</b> I heard everything from 1/4 of his salary to 1/2 pre-tax of every penny he makes. What is true?
I heard their People's Congress (is it how they call it over there?) has a weekly debate about how much Yao should bring home in order to keep his country running.
the People's Congress meets once every year. The standing committee meets more often but still far from weekly
okay but daoes anyone know ther % and how many years he is bound to it? Is it for the life of his career?
Forget the Chinese govnt keep him busy during the summer. Looks to me Yao's mind is already in China. Someone needs to drill his ear telling him that he needs to stay in US to improve his game. If he himself is not strong about it, they will keep pulling him back.
Yao said that an olympic medal is more important to him than an NBA championship. That tells you where his priorities are. It's not like they're forcing him to go to China. He will never say no, but at the same time he wants to play for China. He's a very loyal person. Unfortunately, what's good for the Chinese team, is not the best thing for the Rockets.
China is where Yao's money is.. he got he huge commercial contracts because he is famous in China. He is bigger than Jordan in China these days. He does not dare to do anything to damage that. He would lose millions the minute he alienated the Chinese people. By the way, you all heard Yao signed large contracts with a lot of companies... how many Yao commercials have tyou seen on TV in the states?
Not really true. Yao's endorsements have been as follows: Nike - China only (and even then they didn't use him that much) Visa Check Cards - US only (seen way too much) Gatorade - Two US Commericals Reebok - used in advertising in both China and US China Unicom - China Only Apple - US only ad campaign Sina.com - China only Sorrent - China only - phone basketball game Garmin - US only McDonald's - Global spokesperson, think China uses him a bit more in advertising Seems to me like it's pretty evenly split down the middle, but thanks for playing.
