NBA, Yao Ming is back!

"Hello Yao, welcome to Nike."

This man's name is Terry Rhodes.

He is currently the head of Nike's China market.

Coincidentally, Nike moved its domestic operations from Guangzhou to Shanghai last summer.

It naturally becomes easier to make contact.

"You're so tall!"

"Everyone says that, it seems like I rarely see anyone taller than me."

Yao Ming knew him, so he greeted him naturally, much more naturally than Liu Wei beside him.

They came here this time to go to Paris with Nike representatives.

Go to the Nike International Training Camp over there.

Meet international players from the same era.

This is a path that must be taken.

If you want to contact Nike, you'll definitely need to meet with the branch manager here. Obviously, because Yao Ming put up amazing numbers, Don Nelson and Casey have already been in contact with him.

I've talked about Yao Ming, but that's not the point. The scout told him it's not really meaningful.

Nike is now such a large company that it has practically taken over the entire market since Jordan came into the industry, at least in the United States. Their biggest competitor now is Adidas.

Right now, consolidating its core business in the NBA is what Nike needs to do.

After all, Adidas is involved in a wider range of industries.

He truly gained recognition because David Stern sent him an email.

This person can't be taken lightly. After graduating and entering the NBA, Nike now wants you to take the whole cake.

And their star player, Michael Jordan, is still playing.

Offending this iron-fisted CEO is no good.

The email wasn't very long; the main point was to take care of that Chinese player named Yao.

Don't be too stingy with the compensation.

This actually conveys two meanings: first, Yao Ming has received attention from the NBA, especially from my president.

He might be the key I use to unlock the Asian market.

If he holds the key to unlocking the Asian market, then it means he possesses immense commercial value…

It is difficult to estimate.

Once this point is grasped, it becomes extremely necessary to open up the market with Nike.

This is tantamount to giving him advance notice.

As the current head of Nike's China operations, he naturally couldn't miss this opportunity.

They quickly understood the meaning; the reception for Yao Ming was much warmer than in the past.

Of course, that's because Yao Ming's current achievements are much better than when I saw them in 97. Back then, he was just an ordinary person who hadn't even played in the CBA yet.

In his own words at the time, he felt that Yao Mingguang had height but lacked physique and technique.

It wasn't until Yao Ming utterly defeated Nike's internal employee team that he finally gave him a second glance.

You can't blame him for that, after all, before Yao Ming, there was only one college player in China, and that was Ma Jian.

He played two seasons at the University of Utah.

He wasn't anyone particularly outstanding.

This resulted in the lack of precedents to learn from.

This has led to a general underestimation of Asia by sports companies and professionals across Europe and America.

Of course, this is normal. It's competitive sports. If you achieve good results, you won't be underestimated.

You can't type it.

No one will waste their time on you.

Emotional resources are also a kind of resource.

"Yao, what kind of value do you think you would need to offer if you were to sign with Nike?"

As they walked, Rhodes, the head of Nike's China operations, asked a question that seemed casual, but many things are actually hidden in that casualness.

Yao Ming didn't understand before, but he understands it quite well now.

In my previous life, I was somewhat resentful because Nike's initial price was unreasonable. Not choosing Nike actually made many aspects of my NBA career less suitable than choosing Nike.

If I played well enough in this life, I could make sufficient demands from the start, and with a more composed mindset, I naturally had no reason to refuse Nike. After all, back then, domestically produced basketball shoes and sports equipment couldn't compare to these foreign products.

To reduce injuries and improve foot feel.

Naturally, the only option is to choose these big foreign brands.

Since you're going to play in the Nike league, it's definitely better to choose Nike.

Of course, contracts like the ones from before are absolutely unacceptable.

Since they are so arrogant, I should also keep a few loopholes in my own hands. The more they underestimate me, the more they will have to pay a heavy price.

If we go back, this place won't be so simple again; we won't let Nike, this big fish, get away.

They'll bite off a huge chunk of your skin and flesh.

What's my name, Great Shark?

"It's not me who needs to present my value to Nike now, but Nike that needs to present its value to me. After all, if I went to play in the NBA, it would bring Nike so many benefits, so I think it's Nike that needs to demonstrate its value to me."

Anyway, young people are 16 years old now, so there's more tolerance for what they say. The same thing you say at 16 is completely different from what you say at 36.

"You dare to speak up, but do you have any expectations?"

He received inside information from Stern that Yao Ming would definitely be signed in the future, and he would be the main person in charge. If he did well, his commission and future would be bright.

Now it's a matter of seeing if this Asian can reach the heights everyone expects and become the first stepping stone for the NBA to penetrate the Chinese market.

If possible, then it would indeed be valuable.

"I don't have one. You can name one first, and I'll take a look."

Yao Ming is not answering this question now. He is no longer the naive young man he once was, and he will not be fooled by small favors.

Seeing that Yao Ming, despite being only 16 years old, was not easily fooled and maintained a stable offer of a contract even from a large company like Nike, he held Yao Ming in even higher regard.

Before coming here, I saw too many Black teenagers in the United States who couldn't resist temptations. Compared to this 16-year-old, they were far inferior.

However, playing basketball isn't about attitude; it's about ability. Therefore, he immediately quoted a price that Yao Ming was very familiar with—

"Before you enter the draft, I can offer you a two-year contract worth $5 per year, which will help you attend various American training camps and access resources early in your career."

Yao Ming nodded silently, reflecting on the four-year, $200,000 contract he had signed. However, it was signed relatively early, and he felt he hadn't yet entered the NBA, so his annual salary was only $50,000.

In terms of price, I might be able to challenge for the NBA earlier now, but the average price hasn't changed.

The total price has been adjusted, which is normal because the signing period has been shortened.

$5 a year was a lot of money in the East at that time, but seeing that the boy's face didn't change at all, he could only continue:

"The renewal price could be 3-4 years, averaging 40 per year. What do you think?"

Well, this is actually exactly what I expected.

Nike instinctively doesn't believe in players who haven't lived up to expectations; after all, betting on Jordan back then probably exhausted their courage.

Don't think this is an exaggeration. This is the price Nike offered after Yao Ming was already the number one draft pick when he entered the NBA.

At the time, Reebok offered $50 million over seven years.

This comparison naturally led to him making a choice out of spite.

When Reebok set its price, Nike quickly increased its offer, but by then Yao Ming had already been dealt with once and was too lazy to pay attention to it again.

However, this hasn't happened yet, and the fact that he's already set a price for himself indicates that his expectations for himself have increased.

However, this price is still nonsense.

It feels like they're trying to make a big profit with a small investment, taking advantage of Asian players who don't know the game.

"sure."

When he heard Yao Ming say that, he was initially excited. If this was a case of winning big with a small investment, he would be highly regarded. As for the subsequent negotiations to change the contract amount, that was no longer his concern.

Proving your ability is enough.

"However, I want to add incentive clauses."

"If I enter the little green room."

"It costs at least 200 million a year."

"Well, it's not something we can't consider."

Yao Ming waved his hand, indicating that he hadn't finished speaking.

"If I become a top-three draft pick."

"Average price starts at 10 million."

"If I win Rookie of the Year, my average price will start at $15 million."

"If I win more honors, each honor will start at 100 million."

What do you think?

Liu Wei listened from the side.

I feel like this guy is such a stranger to me.

That's US dollars, how come he keeps talking about millions and more?

If it were me, this would be a different story.

I agreed without hesitation a long time ago.

What if they don't want to?

Isn't that like a cooked duck flying away?

Ok?

This tall guy from the East.

The familiar incentive terms, the familiar tone.

It seems like it might actually be true, but...

I wasn't raised to be easily scared.

These are things you can't do easily.

Young people are still too inexperienced.

Do you think the NBA is the CBA?

If you sign a super low-price contract, you'll regret it.

In his slightly sinister smile.

Yao Ming's smile was also sinister.

As for who suffered the loss on both sides...

We'll talk about that later.

In any case, both sides believe they have come out on top.

Because at this moment, Nelson Jr. and Don Casey were already waiting here.

After the CBA season ends, they will follow Yao Ming to the Nike Paris training camp.

There, they met the other international athletes they admired.

Waiting.

To make the most intuitive one-to-one comparison.