Adidas and James Harden have finally made it official.
James Harden has officially become the top dog for Adidas after signing the $200 million deal dangled to him by the three-stripe brand. The deal will keep the Houston star guard with Adidas for 13 years.
This was confirmed to USA Today by an undisclosed source, a deal which Nike could have matched but opted not to do so.
With other main stars like Kevin Durant, Lebron James and Kobe Bryant already under their wing, the large contract which is said to be half of what the company had paid to the NBA as the league’s official uniform supplier before ending their deal earlier this year.
The $200 million deal thus places Harden along the ranks of top NBA player endorsers and also makes him the main endorser for Adidas. Prior brand endorsers Derrick Rose, John Wall and Damian Lillard will now be behind the bearded one.
"We're a brand of creators and James embodies that more than any athlete in the game," Chris Grancio, adidas Global Basketball General Manager, said in a statement via USA Today.
"His addition to the Adidas basketball family is a game changer. This partnership gives him the opportunity to achieve his goals and express himself in a totally new way as a creator. He's already one of the most recognizable sports figures because of his game, his look, his hunger to win and his style on the off the court...”
The deal will reportedly include “off-court signature footwear” and apparel collection. The deal will also include brand tours in the Asian and European regions.
On Nike’s end, opting not to match the offer comes a year after the company matched the $250 million dangle to former teammate Kevin Durant. Durant was offered a $250 million offer by Under Armour.
Prior to Harden, Adidas hooked up Damian Lillard of the Portland Trailblazers in May in a deal estimated to be around $100 million for four years.
The Harden deal is Adidas’ ticket to hopefully pull them abreast with their other brand rivals, particularly Nike. Apparently the brand suffered a bit with Rose, especially when the star guard went down with an injury in the past years.
The deal was practically leaked at the Drew League with rumored girlfriend Khloe Kardashian sporting Adidas apparel during one of Harden’s games.
Rob Pelinka, the agent of Harden, was the one who negotiated the deal with Adidas. Pelinka likewise confirmed that Nike was not matching the offer of Adidas as bared by ESPN.
Harden’s fresh pact with Adidas will officially being on October 1.