Kevin Durant could sign with Under Armour for $30 million a year a deal that could help push NBA MVP to Wizards
Kevin Durant won’t hit the free agent market until July 2016 but the NBA’s Most Valuable Player is on the verge of landing a blockbuster endorsement deal that could influence his future on the court as well.
According to a person familiar with negotiations, Durant, whose seven-year, $60 million deal with Nike is expiring, could earn as much as $30 million annually if he signs with Under Armour Inc., whose headquarters are in Durant’s home state of Maryland.
Nike and Adidas are also in talks with Durant, whose combination of brilliance on the court and marketability in the aftermath of his emotional MVP speech has made him the darling of Madison Avenue.
“I’m just going to let my team be the ones who handle that behind the scenes, I guess,” Durant told ESPN last week. “When you look at stuff like that, it’s great problems to have because people want you for what you know and do on the basketball court, the work you put in, so I’m going to continue to put my work in, let them focus on that on the other end, and we’ll come together at some point.”
A deal with Under Armour could also be beneficial to the Washington Wizards, one of several teams, including the Knicks and Nets, putting themselves in position financially to make a run at Durant in two summers.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis and Under Armour Founder/CEO Kevin Plank, a University of Maryland graduate, have been involved in several philanthropic endeavors in the D.C. area.
Wizards owner Ted Leonsis and Under Armour Founder/CEO Kevin Plank, a University of Maryland graduate, have been involved in several philanthropic endeavors in the D.C. area.
A potential Durant deal with Under Armour doesn’t guarantee the Wizards of landing Durant but for the star-crossed franchise any connection to the Maryland/D.C. area doesn’t hurt either.
The Wizards have two young guards, All-Star John Wall and Bradley Beal, who could help lure Durant back home. Also, the Wizards recently hired David Adkins as a player development assistant, a transaction that mostly went unnoticed. Adkins most recently was an assistant coach for the women’s team at the University of Maryland. Making the jump from women’s college basketball to the NBA is unusual until you consider that Adkins was also an assistant coach at Montrose Christian when Durant attended the high school.
Durant’s feelings for Oklahoma City and the Thunder organization were obvious during his MVP speech when he choked by tears several times discussing his teammates, coaching staff and Thunder owner Clayton Bennett. The Thunder will have the opportunity to offer Durant the most money and if the team were to win an NBA title within the next two seasons that would make it that much harder for Durant to walk away.
But teams are also planning for the possibility of Durant leaving for a larger market and many believe that they have an edge over the competition. The Knicks are coached by Durant’s former teammate Derek Fisher while club president Phil Jackson will be selling Durant on the opportunity to play alongside Carmelo Anthony.
The Brooklyn Nets could have a friend in Jay Z, who once held a minority stake in the club and is currently the founder of Roc Nation, the agency that signed Durant as a client. Moreover, Jay Z hired Michael Yormark, formerly the CEO of the NHL’s Florida Panthers, to become his president and chief of branding and strategy at Roc Nation. Yormark’s twin brother, Brett, is the CEO of the Brooklyn Nets and Barclays Center.
The Lakers will have the cap space to sign Durant in two years, which is also when Kobe Bryant’s contract expires. In the span of 13 months, the Lakers lost Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol to free agency and failed to land either LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony. Their brand has taken a major hit but the addition of Durant, who spends part of the offseason in L.A., would alter the direction of the franchise.
The Heat lost LeBron last month but team president Pat Riley has already stated that Miami intends to be big players in free agency in two years. That’s code for “Kevin Durant,” the player apparel companies want endorsing their shoes as well as the MVP that a dozen or so teams are desperate to sign.
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