One company we’ve been hearing about in the sports endorsements world has been Under Armour. First they nab Stephen Curry at a discount. Then they get Jordan Speith at an even greater one. But this week Adidas is making headlines in the NBA. They’ve scored a big win after offering MVP runner up James Harden a $200 million deal about a week ago. Nike, Harden’s previous endorser had a right to match the offer but sources say that Nike has declined. The reason is unknown but Nike is under contract with a ton of other players so $200 million might not be in their best interest right now, even if it’s to sign “The Beard.”
Many people, including a consensus by NBA players, thought that Harden deserved MVP honors after he fell in the voting to Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry. Nike had concerns about sinking that much money into just one player, when it has several other superstars to sign. One of those players is Kevin Durant, who nearly signed with Under Armour last summer. In Durant’s case, Nike did in fact decide to match an offer of over $250 million.
Despite the rumors, Harden hasn’t technically signed yet. He’s got until the end of this week to do so. So unless Under Armour swoops in, it looks like Adidas has their new NBA poster boy.
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