Does Kevin Durant already have a Nike shoe deal on the table?

Posted on Wed Mar 21, 2007 at 10:11:32 AM EST in College
More on: Nike, marketing, Kevin Durant, Texas, college basketball (all tags)

Already sporting Nike

If there's any question whether Kevin Durant is going to go pro this season, a phone call from Kobe might have sealed the deal. According to Chip Brown of the Dallas Morning News, Kobe Bryant called Nike on behalf of Nike to pitch a shoe deal between $30M to $50M. ("Hey Kevin, I can't wait till you come into the league so I can elbow you in the head. Oh, by the way, Phil Knight wants to give you $50M. ")

Based on the NBA rookie salary scale, Durant will make about $11M-$12.5M his first three years in the league. And here comes Nike throwing three times that just for promoting a shoe. It's not LeBron's $90M deal but it's almost a guarantee that he will leave Texas.

We think they should let players get their own shoe deals in college. This way they won't have to leave early so that they risk injury in the college game. What would Rick Barnes rather have? A team wide shoe deal for the Longhorns or Kevin Durant for 3 more years?

Links:
[Dallas Morning News]: Sneaker deal could be deciding factor if Durant is one-and-done

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