NBA: Goat is actually me
Chapter 76 The choice of sneaker contract, the beginning of a history!
Chapter 76 The choice of sneaker contract, the beginning of a history!
After the flagrant foul rules were officially introduced, Meng Jin's system prompt sounded.
"Great! You have single-handedly brought forward the flagrant foul rule for the entire league. The system will reward you with 1 point of random attribute and 3 points of random potential attribute. Keep it up and change more things!"
Meng Jin was a little surprised. The system didn’t tell him that he could get rewards even if he announced the alliance rules ahead of time!
But thinking back, it was normal. He didn't know the system had this function before he mastered the skill.
Maybe there will be more surprises waiting for me in the future.
Meng Jin opened the attribute panel and saw that the system randomly assigned 1 attribute point to bounce. Meng Jin’s current bounce attribute is: 93 (99).
Meng Jin was a little speechless. He no longer needed to improve his jumping ability, unless his future opponents were aliens.
Although it is of little use, it is a high-priced attribute point after all, because it had reached 92 before the bounce. The higher the attribute value, the harder it is to upgrade. Normally, Meng Jin may have to practice for several months to upgrade it.
Fortunately, the system did not let me down with the random potential points, and 3 potential points were allocated to the layup attribute: 74 (78).
Layup is a practical ability for Meng Jin. For a player like him who is good at dribbling to the basket, his layup attribute must not be too low. After all, not all balls can be solved by dunking.
August 11, early morning.
On a flight from Chicago to Milwaukee, a boiled egg suddenly shouted, "Where's Meng? Why didn't Meng get on the plane today!"
Collins walked up to him and whispered, "Didn't the league ban him for two games? I gave him a day off."
"Where is he now?"
Collins couldn't stand Jordan's questioning. What a damn desire for control! Is Meng Jin your girlfriend? Why do you care so much about his movements?
"It could be Los Angeles or Hawaii, depending on whether he likes cities or the sea."
Collins controlled his emotions and spoke to Jordan in a gentle voice that his relationship with Jordan had almost broken down some time ago, and Collins had been extra cautious with Jordan ever since.
“He might have gone to Las Vegas.”
"Meng is not Michael."
"Hahaha."
Several teammates around him started making jokes about Jordan.
Jordan ignored them and nodded: "He really needs to relax."
At this moment, Meng Jin was in the elevator of a hotel in Los Angeles.
Just now, he had the second round of negotiations with his agent Falk and Nike representatives.
Meng Jin's recent performance is unlikely to fail to attract the attention of sneaker brands. In addition to Nike, Converse and Adidas have also contacted Meng Jin.
After weighing the offers from the three companies, Falk ranked Nike first.
"How do you feel? Is that offer okay?" Falk asked.
“This is a good contract.”
Meng Jin said it was good, but his expression was still dissatisfied.
Nike's second offer was raised to US$3 for three years, which was definitely a sky-high price in that era, higher than that of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird.
But when Meng Jin mentioned the issue of equity and dividends, the Nike representatives refused without hesitation, leaving no room for negotiation. They just wanted Meng Jin to get a fixed salary.
Meng Jin can understand this. The Nike today is not the Nike of 1984. Their stock price is very valuable and has a lot of room for growth.
And Nike now has a biggest problem. Their main focus is on Jordan, and almost all resources are allocated to him.
So Meng Jin did not rush to agree to Nike. He decided to go to Adidas and Converse to have a look. However, he estimated that there was not much hope. Adidas and Converse were already big companies before Nike, and their shares could not be divided up so easily.
It's not impossible to let Meng Jin get a fixed salary, but people should always have ideals and goals. If he gets a fixed salary, he'll be an employee, but if he gets shares and dividends, he'll be a small boss.
There is an essential difference between the two.
Meng Jin and Falk walked into the hall and were suddenly stopped by a young Chinese man with a square face and round-frame glasses.
"Meng! Meng! You must take a look at our product!"
Falk led Meng Jin forward and lowered his voice, "Hurry up, we're here to sell you something."
Meng Jin stopped, however, because he was speaking Chinese.
The man took out a shoe from his bag: "Meng, this is a basketball shoe tailor-made for you by our brand Nautica."
"Nautica?"
It was a brand Meng Jin had never heard of before.
Falk continued in a low voice: "There are hundreds or even thousands of such brands across the United States. They try their luck with stars or potential new stars everywhere. Don't pay attention to them. They may die the next day."
Meng Jin took the shoes and looked at them. He found that the design was good and tough, with the clear lines of an old military uniform, but also with some fashion design. It didn't look tacky. The color scheme was the red and black color of the Bulls. Behind the heel were Meng Jin's initials MJ and his jersey number 1.
You can see they put a lot of thought into it.
Meng Jin fiddled with the sneakers in his hand, examining them from the upper to the sole. He couldn't say he was 100% satisfied, but the overall feeling was indeed good.
"I'll give you three minutes." Meng Jin looked at the young Chinese man.
"My name is David Zhu. Nautica is a brand founded by me and my friends. I watched your games against the Celtics and the Pistons and was very shocked. It is hard to imagine that we yellow people can perform like this in the basketball court. At that time, I was inspired and I wanted to design a pair of sneakers for you. I worked all night for 48 hours to make this product."
David Zhu was very excited. He heard through his connections that Meng Jin would negotiate with Nike today, so he rushed here from New York to wait here in advance. He originally just wanted to try his luck, but he didn't expect Meng Jin to really give him the opportunity.
Although David Zhu's words were a little incoherent, Meng Jin could tell that he was at least sincere, and judging from the dark circles under his eyes, he didn't look like a liar.
"What about the other one?" Meng Jin asked. He wanted to try it on.
David Zhu was a little embarrassed: "The time is too tight, I can only make this one sample shoe."
Falk was speechless after hearing this. Have you ever seen anyone selling shoes by just one?
Falk pulled Meng Jin and kept repeating, "Converse and Adidas, Converse and Adidas, Converse and Adidas." Falk had an appointment with these two brands to meet later, and he really didn't want to waste time here.
However, Meng Jin seems to be very interested in David Zhu and his Nautica brand.
“Have you made basketball shoes before?”
David Zhu: "This is the first time I've designed a basketball shoe."
Falk put his hands on his hips, looking impatient. In his opinion, it was impossible for such a company to design good sneakers!
Looking at Meng Jin's expressionless face, David Zhu felt that he must have messed up.
The next second, Meng Jin spoke again: "If I sign a contract with you, can I participate in the design of sneakers?"
David Zhu's eyes lit up, as if he had regained hope: "Of course! I'm the designer!"
Meng Jin: "You are the boss, the designer, and the salesman?"
David Zhu pushed his glasses embarrassedly and said nothing.
"How much money do you have in your pocket?" Meng Jin asked straight to the point.
Falk beside him gradually felt that something was wrong.
"Our budget is $50, but the company plans to sign 3-5 basketball players."
David Zhu was very honest and told Meng Jin everything directly.
Meng Jin said directly: "Give me all the money in your pocket and I will sign with you."
David Zhu was a little intimidated by Meng Jin's momentum and was speechless for a while.
Meng Jin thought he was reluctant to part with the money, so he added, "If you give it to others, maybe they can earn a little more, but it's just a small profit. If you give it to me,
I will make you a lot of money, and I will make you a company that can compete with Nike."
The two were talking calmly, while Falk on the side was scratching his head, it was a completely different picture!
David Zhu was not reluctant to spend the money, he was just shocked. It was the first time he saw someone negotiate like this!
David Zhu looked frightened. He stammered, "I was planning to sign a three-year contract with you."
"Then sign for three years."
After hearing what Meng Jin said, Falk could no longer sit still. He felt that this boy was crazy, and completely crazy.
First, he signed with a small company whose name he didn’t know. Second, the money offered by this small company was less than half of what Nike offered!
Even if Falk is not good at math, he can still calculate the money clearly: 3 for 30 years and 3 for 80 years.
"Meng, Converse and Adidas are waiting for us. We must set off immediately." Falker pulled Meng Jin, then smiled at David Zhu and said, "Your sneakers are nice. We will consider them after we return."
Meng Jin ignored Falk and continued, "I have two requests. First, give me 10% of the shares. Second, give me 5% of the profit for every pair of shoes I sell. If the shoes sell a certain number, this number will be increased. How about 8000% for 8 million sales and 1.2% for 10 million sales? Can you accept it?"
David Zhu: "I can only give 5% of the shares. This is not my company alone."
"7.5%."
"Deal." David Zhu was afraid that if he continued bargaining, Meng Jin would be gone.
When Falk heard this, he understood what Meng Jin meant. He wanted to replicate Jordan's success.
But what he didn't know was that Meng Jin said he didn't want to replicate Jordan's success, he wanted to be more successful than Jordan.
"Meng, Nike has already taken over the market, and now small brands can't break in."
Falk still tried to persuade Meng Jin without giving up.
Meng Jin looked back at him and said, "People also said the same thing when Converse and Adidas occupied the market. They said Nike would never be able to squeeze in, so they told them to give up. What happened?"
Falk knew Meng Jin was determined, so he sighed and said, "Will Converse and Adidas still meet?"
Meng Jin: "Gone. Anyway, they won't give me a commission, let alone shares."
"Where to go now?"
"Let's have lunch together." Meng Jin said and then looked at David Zhu: "Xiao Zhu, you come too."
David Zhu can speak Chinese, so Meng Jin no longer calls him David. It sounds more intimate to call him Xiao Zhu.
David Zhu nodded. Of course he was willing to stay with Meng Jin for a while so that he could explain the brand's ideas and philosophy to him.
David Zhu talked about everything from the process of brand creation to the meaning of the LOGO, the difficult development in the past two years, and the outlook for the future.
The whole lunch went very pleasantly, of course, only between Meng Jin and David Zhu.
Falk was silent throughout the whole session. He knew Meng Jin was very ambitious, but as his agent he didn't want Meng Jin to take any risks.
Meng Jin felt that even if this brand did not succeed, he would only have wasted three years. If it did succeed, it would be another sneaker empire.
He is still young and can afford to take the risk.
Moreover, although Nike is quite big now, it does not have absolute voice in the league. In this era, the NBA will not deprive Meng Jin of the honor that should belong to him just because he is not a Nike player.
Meng Jin canceled all plans for the afternoon and asked Falk to call a lawyer to complete the signing of the sneaker contract directly in the restaurant.
It is known as the restaurant agreement.
On the evening flight back to New York, David Zhu was very nervous. The company was founded by several people, and he signed the contract with Meng Jin without informing others.
Although the first contract signed between Nike and Jordan offered a generous price, it also came with many restrictions.
The contract signed between Nautica and Meng Jin had no restrictions at all. David Zhu felt that his partners would definitely kill him when he returned.
At this moment, what he didn't know was that a new history was quietly beginning.
(End of this chapter)
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