Kevin Durant Next Shoes is Under Armour? Offers $285M Deal to KD

Kevin Durant's seven-year deal with Nike is expiring, and sports brand, Under Armour, is making a huge offer to sign the NBA MVP.    

In a report by ESPN, Durant was offered by Under Armour $265 to $285 million for a contract lasting over 10 years. Nike, however, still has the option of matching the offer by Under Armour, as stipulated in the OKC forward's endorsement contract with the sports giant. In the previous NBA season, Nike reportedly raked in about $175 million from Durant-endorsed products.

Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour, believes that Durant can be an asset to the company because he can spread the brand's presence in the international scene and help the "small shoe business" grow, ESPN added.

According to News OK, should the deal push through, it will be the biggest endorsement deal that Under Armour would get into. The brand allocated almost 10% of its yearly budget to acquire Durant. In a report by SB Nation, the endorsement deal would also be bigger than what Durant is already earning as a player for the OKC Thunder. He is set to earn about $41.2 million over a span of two years before entering the free agent market in 2016. His deal with Under Armour would pay him a minimum of $10 million more.

When Durant signed with Nike in 2007, the deal was reportedly $20 million less than what Adidas offered but he preferred the former more. Now, another factor might persuade Durant to opt for Under Armour aside from the huge offer. The Under Armour headquarters is located just 36 miles away from Durant's hometown in Seat Pleasant, Maryland, according to ESPN. There are even talks that Durant might transfer to the Washington Wizards when he enters free agency to get closer to home, just like LeBron James.

On August 13, 2014, Durant cancelled an invitation by Nike to visit the Under Armour headquarters, ESPN added. He was only supposed to discuss matters for two hours but instead, he was reportedly so excited about the possibility of working with the brand that he stayed the entire day and even started working out in the brand's shoes. During that visit, Durant was not yet given the specifics of the cash offer, ESPN noted, but he was interested at how the brand showed his possible contribution to its growth as well as the possibility of playing close to home.

Under Armour has been doing very well in sales in 2014, increasing its shares by 96 percent compared to Nike's growth of 21.5 percent, ESPN observed.