Chapter 257 The game behind the scenes
In one word, a big blow.
Edwards thinks Nike is ready.
Nike is aware of the Asian market that Levi represents and the key role Levi plays in the alliance's ambitious plan to expand the global market.
So, Nike is ready to seize the opportunity——
Not only to seize Levi, but also to seize the opportunity of NFL expansion.
However.
Now it seems that Nike has narrowed its vision this time.
Edwards looked at Donald again, a hint of interest in his eyes.
Here, there is an important point.
Brady's personal jersey sponsor is not Nike, but Under Armor.
In football, Nike's biggest competitor is not Adidas, but Under Armor. Because the founder of Under Armor is a former professional rugby player, the brand's professional image is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people on the rugby field, easily sweeping over a large number of players and grabbing the market like crazy.
Edwards believes that if Under Armor shows enough sincerity, Donald can easily obtain an eye-catching contract for Levi.
In 2010, when fighting for Brady's contract, Nike was not active because the market value of football players really needs to be carefully considered. Whether it is jerseys or sneakers, including quick-drying clothes worn during training, the interfering factors that affect sales figures are: a lot of.
In addition, Brady is a "veteran" and his market value has been relatively fixed, so there is limited room for further expansion.
Under Armor, which was on the rise at that time, showed its determination and signed Brady in football and Curry in basketball, which immediately opened up the situation.
At this moment, the competition between Nike and Under Armor in the football field has entered a new stage.
Now, the situation is completely different,
First, Levi is young.
Secondly, the Chinese label.
Third, alliance ambition.
All kinds of factors collided together, and Nike also realized that this opportunity was rare and they needed to grasp it firmly. Only then did Edwards personally take action.
Otherwise, imagine a running back who has played just two games in his career?
Not to mention that Edwards personally went into battle, Nike may not even have a particularly strong desire to sign a contract.
But here Edwards shows up.
Then, Edwards discovered that the situation was slightly different from his expectations. He never expected that he would get involved in a storm by mentioning Federer casually.
Perhaps Nike's biggest advantage now lies in Donald's ambition——
This is a bad thing and a good thing.
After all, if Donald has confidence in the Levi brand, then Nike is the best choice. Compared with Under Armour, Nike's marketing, brand planning and marketing strategies are all ahead.
A back and forth, a short confrontation, but sparks were flying and thoughts were changing.
Edwards looked at Donald and smiled.
"It seems that we have reached a consensus."
"Nike believes that Levi is the future of the NFL. He will be the face of the league for the next ten years. We hope to build a new personal brand around Levi."
"Youth. Youth. Fashion. Trendy."
"Not only in the football field, the Levi series can also be applied to daily life scenes, just like 'Air-Jordan' back then, and just like 'RF'. We are going to build Levi into a new brand label, and his concept will be The value of his image is deeply rooted in young people.”
"Rugby is not just about the stereotypes on the field."
Half truths and half lies, some were originally planned and some were improvised.
Edwards is worthy of being the figure at the top of the pyramid. He changed his strategy immediately, took control of the situation immediately, and drew a grand blueprint——
As for whether it can be realized, we will talk about it later.
Anyway, it's just a negotiation now.
“In Levi, we see what’s possible.”
Looking at Levi again, Edwards smiled. "Personally, I like Levi's outfit very much. I would like to wear this hat T-shirt, and I would also like to wear this pair of classic replica Air Force Ones."
Today, Levi is wearing his own private clothes.
Because he needed to meet LeBron James later, Donald told Levi not to be too grand or gorgeous, which would appear to be too powerful; but also not to appear too casual and simple, with your own style and a little boldness. It doesn't matter at all.
then.
The mint green hat T was paired with light blue denim shorts and white Air Force One. Finally, he grabbed a denim jacket to prepare for the strong wind at night.
The seemingly casual outfit has perfect proportions and lines. Completely different from the image on the field, he looks exactly like a young and sunny college student.
Donald gently nodded his head in agreement, "Levi is worth paying attention to in normal times. Obviously, he has his own fashion philosophy, but he is not as exaggerated as Beckham."
Beckham, three defeats in question.
The conversation changed and Donald looked at Edwards, "We understand Nike's blueprint. So, what kind of sincerity is Nike prepared to use to realize it?"
Numbers, what Donald needs is a number.
Edwards was not surprised. After all, this was the theme of today's meeting. He took out a folded check from his pocket and handed it to Levi.
"Our legal department has prepared the contract. As long as you sign it, the check will be yours immediately."
Levi didn't even look at it and handed it directly to Donald——
Anyway, no matter what the number is, it is definitely a number that Levi has never seen in his previous life.
In the first half of the year, Levi had just signed a rookie contract, but Levi did not see the check directly. The salary was transferred to the bank account on time week by week.
Calculated on a per game basis. Some players also have performance clauses, so the weekly salary figures are different. If there are still league fines that week, the team will directly deduct the fines before making the transfer.
The weekly numbers don't seem that amazing.
The weight of the check in front of you is naturally different.
From here on, it's Donald's specialty.
Donald glanced at the check, his face expressionless and calm, "How many years?"
Edwards, "Five years. We hope to establish a stable and long-term cooperative relationship with Levi."
Five years is indeed a very long time.
For reference, rookie contracts are only four years.
Therefore, brand sponsorship contracts for rookie players are often three or four years, and both parties have to investigate and wait for the contract to be renewed in the future.
From this perspective, Nike has indeed shown sincerity.
However, Donald is not satisfied with the number, "This number, if it is a three-year contract, we can sit down and discuss it."
--$7.5 million.
This is the number on the check.
In other words, Nike proposed a contract of $1.5 million per year for five years.
To compare horizontally, the contract Odell Beckham signed with Nike during his rookie season was US$1.5 million per year for a total of four years.
Nike, in one fell swoop, set Levi against Beckham Jr.
The point is that Beckham Jr. is a wide receiver. In his rookie season, he had a video of "catching the ball with one hand" that became famous all over the Internet. He is like a leader of the new generation.
Levi is a running back, but relying on the bonus of his Chinese identity, he is in and out, barely equal to Beckham Jr., which is a reasonable offer.
At least that's how Nike sees it.
However, Donald doesn't think so. Beckham Jr.'s contract was already three years ago, and there is no comparison between Beckham Jr. and Levi -
Two and a half million dollars per year for three years.
Donald thinks this is reasonable.
(End of chapter)