Chapter 256 Full of Sincerity
Hey, the door of the conference room at the Century City Marriott Hotel in Los Angeles opened, but the footsteps were absorbed by the burgundy carpet, and no movement was heard at all.
What greeted us was a gentleman. Although it was still the height of summer in Los Angeles in September, this gentleman was still in a neat suit, a complete three-piece suit, and the Mediterranean area with not much hair left was still neatly groomed. However, these details can show his seriousness.
As soon as he appeared on the stage, the gentleman passed Donald, looked at Levi sincerely and enthusiastically, and opened the situation with a little humor.
Levi didn't react for a moment. He followed the gentleman's line of sight and turned to look over. Only then did he see the billboard erected on the tall building in Century City behind him——
"Los Angeles Chargers vs. Kansas Chiefs."
But the point is, it should be a promotional poster for a match between the two sides, but there are no Los Angeles Chargers players in sight at this time, only Levi.
If you think about it seriously, this is not surprising.
The Los Angeles Chargers just moved back this season and have almost no fan base in the city. In this case, they might as well promote the new face of the league.
To be honest, Levi was still a little uncomfortable with it. He suddenly saw his face appearing on the billboard, and that face became unfamiliar.
Tilting his head slightly, Levi looked at the gentleman again and said jokingly, "A lot of work must have been done to retouch the picture. Are you sure that person is me?"
The gentleman laughed heartily and stretched out his right hand, "That's why I said, the real person is more handsome. Trevor Edwards."
Donald was reduced to a foil.
But Donald doesn't mind. The Edwards in front of him is Nike's current executive vice president of brand marketing, and is undoubtedly a member of the top management of the pyramid. His willingness to come to Los Angeles to start negotiations in person has shown enough sincerity; at this time, The actions further prove this.
Generally speaking, when faced with young rookie players, these experienced old foxes know that these are children who have never seen the world, and they can be suppressed by just throwing some numbers at them, so those who really have the power to negotiate It's an agent——
Getting the agent also means getting the rookie.
If the agent happens to be a giant in the industry, then the rookie has no say in front of the agent and usually just nods obediently.
However, Edwards did not do this.
Although it was Donald who was in charge of the negotiations, Edwards knew that the decision-making power was in Levi's hands, and he showed absolute respect in one meeting.
It can be seen in the details that Nike should have carefully studied Levi.
Edwards seemed confident and in full control of the conversation.
"People often think that professional players should speak for themselves by their performance on the field. Of course, this is true. Competitive sports do not pay attention to losers, but from the perspective of the business market, performance is not the only measurement criterion."
"Otherwise, David Beckham would not have become the most profitable player in football in the past two decades, and he would not even have won a Ballon d'Or."
Beckham: Arrow to the knee.
Levi spread his hands, "People often think that David is a vase with only good looks but no strength. I'm not sure whether this is David's success or failure."
Beckham: Another arrow to the knee.
Edwards laughed cheerfully, "So, the media hasn't discussed your appearance yet. Are you happy or regretful?"
Levi shrugged lightly, "Oh, my word, there are too many places they want to attack. The vase should not be ranked, the attack power is too weak. I guess, I am luckier than David?"
Is this... self-deprecating?
There was a hint of appreciation in Edwards' eyes - appearance is very important, very, very important.
To give a simple and intuitive example, Cristiano-Ronaldo (Cristiano-Ronaldo) and Lionel-Messi (Lionel-Messi) are now competing for excellence in professional football. They are neck-and-neck and vying with each other, but C- Why does Ronaldo earn more than Messi?
Appearance is an important reason.
It's not that Messi's appearance is not good, but relatively speaking, C-Ronaldo knows better about packaging, management and promotion, and appearance does play an important role.
But appearance alone is not enough. There should not be too many handsome guys in basketball and football. What really attracts fans and even makes people outside the circle is personal charm.
Now, Edwards sees in Levi a unique temperament that does not match his age, even better than what he saw at the press conference.
It’s unbelievable, but Edwards believes that the current media has not forced Levi’s ten successes at all, and Levi is completely comfortable.
After looking at it carefully, Edwards praised it.
"You know? I see the shadow of the Swiss King Roger Federer in you."
A generational tennis king?
Like Jordan, Federer also built a business empire with Nike.
Although Levi has traveled back from 2023, his prophetic advantage is very limited, but at least he knows one thing. In the first round of Wimbledon in 2018, Federer, who has been wearing Nike for fifteen years, appeared in a low-key appearance wearing a Uniqlo jersey. Such an understatement announced the most sensational and shocking breakup in professional tennis.
Years later, Nike's CEO frankly admitted that it was a wrong decision. They should have kept Federer, and they should have kept the Federer brand in Nike.
So, what now?
There is not much time left before the scene next June. Have Federer and Nike started negotiations? Or could it be said that Nike has already made a decision internally about Federer's future?
Assuming that if Nike has decided not to renew Federer's contract, a large part of the reason is that they believe that Federer's body can no longer hold on and will retire soon. It is not worth continuing to renew the contract with a high fee. They must take a longer-term view. , especially among young people.
So, will Levi be included in this future young market?
Levi was a little surprised that Edwards actually mentioned Federer.
He looked over and said, "Oh, my pleasure, does this mean I can get the same contract as Federer?"
Obviously, this is a joke.
Edwards recognized it right away and couldn't help laughing loudly, "Let's put it this way, we are looking forward to discovering the next Federer."
Just in time, Donald said, "Or the first Levi on the football field."
Ambition is beginning to show.
Federer is to tennis what Jordan is to basketball.
Before them, their respective sports had already entered the commercialization model, and a series of superstars were born; but their appearance was the real turning point. The sports projects were strongly out of the circle and became highly commercialized projects, which truly opened up the commercial endorsement contracts of other players. A new situation——
A new world.
Therefore, the weight of Donald's words is self-evident.
Edwards looked Donald in the face for the first time.
It seems that Nike still underestimated Donald's ambition and also underestimated Donald's preparation for this meeting. Is Donald really prepared to use Levi as a turning point to push rugby into the era of personal superstars?
Is this possible?
(End of this chapter)