Nike, the athletic shoes and apparel giant, has proven that it is no pushover.
In an article by Bleacher Report, Darren Rovell of ESPN stated that NBA superstar Kevin Durant already re-signed with Nike after the company countered the huge offer by Under Armour valued anywhere between $265 and $285 million.
On September 1, Rovell tweeted, "Kevin Durant has now officially signed with Nike. Deal runs through start of 2024 season."
Nike's $60 million deal with Durant was for a period of seven years, ESPN recalled. The company initially offered the MVP a $20 million per year deal but he started to look interested in Under Armour's offer, even cancelling a trip to Nike to meet with executives at the Under Armour headquarters.
Under Armour was on the verge of signing the NBA MVP for seven years after his contract with Nike expires.
However, on August 30, 2014, Nike executives talked to Durant and his representatives at Roc Nation Sports to discuss a deal that would counter that of Under Armour, ESPN revealed. Nike intended to keep Durant in its primary list of basketball endorsers, alongside LeBron James and Kobe Bryant.
According to ESPN, the exact offer by Nike was not yet revealed, but it is certain that Durant will be getting more from his endorsement deal than his NBA salary, slated at $41.2 million in the next two years with the OKC Thunder.
Under Armour had some advantages which made many fans believe that the forward would take the deal, ESPN observed. Aside from the giant sum, the Under Armour headquarters in Baltimore was conveniently close to Durant's hometown in Maryland. There were even talks that he might transfer to the Washington Wizards in 2016 when his OKC Thunder and Nike contract expire. The proposal by Under Armour included 10 percent stock and building a community center in the name of Durant's mother.
However, Nike is not willing to easily let go of Durant whose signature line raked in "$175 million at retail this past year, according to SportsOneSource, a market retail tracking firm," ESPN reported. Nike also has the advantage of being Durant's preferred brand. It has been reported that he initially turned down an offer from Adidas in favor of Nike.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today wrote that a close source revealed that Nike proposed a deal that will run for an entire decade, possibly reaching $300 million including a $50 million retirement package. Durant reportedly signed the deal in Texas on August 30, 2014. The source requested to stay anonymous.