Chapter 59 Sneaker Contract

Author: Dong Wangyi

Chapter 59 Sneaker Contract

That night, in the Christmas game, the league only scheduled two games, namely the Green Team's away game against the Bulls, and the Lakers' away game against the Clippers.

Zhou Quan watched the game between the Bulls and the Green Team. He had played against Jordan, but had not played against Larry Bird. He heard that Big Bird's physical condition was not very good and he was likely to retire. He hoped to play in the big leagues.

Before Bird retires, play a game with him.

Sure enough, Bird was not in good shape in this game. He played 34 minutes, made 4 of 10 shots, 8 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists.

The Big Bird is gone. Jordan has no opponent there, and he is not excited about playing. He has no desire to attack. He only played 35 minutes, made 6 of 14 shots, and got 14 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocks.

In the end, the Bulls defeated the Green Team with a score of 99:121. Six Bulls players scored in double figures.

After Christmas, the Pistons ushered in back-to-back games, defeating the Magic at home and away, and achieved two consecutive victories after Christmas.

In addition to the previous seven consecutive victories, they have won ten consecutive victories. They have reversed the five-game losing streak at the beginning, with 18 wins and 11 losses, and a winning rate of 62%. They are still fifth in the Eastern Conference, but only half a game behind the fourth-placed Green Team.

field.

On the 28th, he completed the second round of pull-up jump shooting training, and his basic shooting skills improved to level 88 and pull-up jump shooting to level 82.

On December 30, the Pistons lost to the Suns at home, ending their winning streak. With 18 wins and 12 losses, they were still fifth in the Eastern Conference.

It ended in 1991 and time entered 1992.

On New Year's Day, the league announced the rookie rankings, and Zhou Quan still ranked third.

Suns shooting guard Jeff Hornacek won the honor of Player of the Month. His statistics were 21.9 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.4 blocks, 2 turnovers and 2.6 fouls, and his shooting percentage was 49.2%.

This is also Hornacek's first hard honor.

In addition, the league announced the start of the 1992 All-Star voting campaign.

Some star sponsors, especially sneaker sponsors, have also begun to take action to support their stars in the All-Star Game.

Zhou Quan has no thoughts on this year's All-Stars. Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars are the stars of the Pistons, and he is not qualified yet.

There was no game that day and he had to fly to a break at noon. Zhou Quan did strength training in the morning and was preparing to start the third round of pull-up jump shooting training after arriving in Houston.

At ten o'clock, the agent Philip called.

"Zhou, good news, there are several sneaker brands looking for you."

"Yeah?"

He was a little happy and asked: "Roger, which brands are they?"

"Nike, Converse, Adidas, Skechers, Reebok, there are five companies in total." Philip said.

Zhou Quan was a little confused, as if something strange had slipped into his presence, and asked: "Roger, Skechers, is this a company that sells shoes?"

Philip said awkwardly: "Zhou, it has just been established, a company in California."

"What?"

Zhou Quan suspected that Philip had received money from Skechers.

Philip said quickly: "That's right, Zhou, their company is very interested in you. You were born in UCLA and you are considered a local player in Los Angeles. Skechers has just been established. We hope to open up the market in Los Angeles and the entire California through You."

"Okay, let's talk about it and get me more money, haha." Zhou Quan said with a smile.

Philip said: "Zhou, you are the most popular rookie this year, no one, and the No. 1 pick Larry Johnson is far less concerned than you. And you are the future that the Pistons are focusing on training. I hope you can get one from these companies."

A good cash contract, a cash contract with exclusive sneakers.”

"Yes, I also hope to have my own exclusive sneaker contract." Zhou Quan smiled expectantly.

Exclusive sneakers are not signature sneakers, they are just ordinary sneakers with a special logo and color matching. They are so-called exclusive sneakers.

This kind of sneakers can be owned by some well-known players. They are basically the main players of each team. Even the leaders of many teams can only get such contracts.

He now also has a sneaker contract with Adidas, which he got after the draft, but it is only the worst equipment contract, not even a cash contract.

This kind of contract can be terminated at any time without any liability, but he can only use the sneakers provided by Adidas for free and will not get a dime.

Next, the season continues, and All-Star voting is also underway.

Among the Pistons, Thomas and Joe Dumars received a lot of votes, but Detroit fans still only recognize them. Zhou Quan's influence in this city is still very small, which he expected.

On January 10, the Jazz announced that postman Karl Malone was back from injury.

Postman was injured on November 15th and has been absent for almost two months and exactly 30 games. This is also the longest absence in his career.

On the 13th, Zhou Quan completed the third round of pull-up jump shooting training, improving his shooting to level 89 and his pull-up jump shooting to level 83.

After two days of rest, the fourth round begins.

On January 18, the Pistons recorded a record of seven wins and one loss in the new year, with a total of 25 wins and 13 losses, with a winning rate of 65.7%. They have rushed to the third place in the Eastern Conference, surpassing the Knicks and Green Team.

During this period, Zhou Quan strengthened his shots according to the team's requirements. In the season, he averaged 14 shots per game and averaged 17 points per game.

His assists have reached 8.5 times. Double-doubles are now very common for him. The team is very satisfied with his performance.

Especially his organizational ability has made the management have high expectations for him, but his shooting percentage is still at 42%.

A 42% hit rate, what kind of level is this?

It is clear from comparison. This season, the Pistons' shooting percentage is 46%. With his number of shots, it is a big hindrance. Otherwise, the record would be better.

His requirements for himself, and his future tasks are mainly to improve offensive efficiency, rather than increase average points per game, and strive to lose the team's signature of the team's most prolific shooter.

This morning, Zhou Quan's agent Roger Philippe was in Los Angeles negotiating with Adidas about Zhou Quan's sneaker contract.

It was said to be a negotiation, but in fact the status of the two parties was unequal, so Adidas appeared to be very strong. It placed the negotiation location in a small conference room in its Los Angeles branch, and only assigned a deputy department manager to take charge. Philip did not

What kind of initiative, very passive.

"My players want their own sneakers..."

As soon as he finished speaking, he was directly interrupted by the deputy manager of Adi's department.

"NO, this is impossible. He is just a rookie, and he is a point guard. He does not have any flashy offense and does not attract fans."

"More importantly, he is Chinese and has no market at all in the United States. Detroit's consumption power is not high. He only deserves an ordinary cash contract, which is already a very good treatment for him.

.”

Phillip shook his head helplessly.

There are three types of sneaker contracts, signature sneaker contracts, cash contracts, and the worst equipment contracts.

The worst thing is the equipment contract, which means you can only use sneakers for free. Zhou Quan’s current contract with Adidas is this kind of contract and can be terminated at any time.

The best and most top-notch thing is a signed sneaker contract. Very few people in the league can get it. Most All-Star players can't get it, and even most superstars can't get it.

This kind of A-level contract is just a standard contract for superstars with huge influence. If you can't get this kind of contract, you won't even be called a super star.

Currently, only a few superstars in the league, including Jordan, Big Dream, Big Bird, Magic, and Smiling Assassin, have such A-level contracts.

Even some superstars do not receive such treatment, such as Barkley, who has worked hard for so many years and still does not have his own signature sneakers.

With Zhou Quan's current popularity and strength, he also knew that it was absolutely impossible to get such a top-level contract. Neither Philip nor Zhou Quan had such hopes or even thought about it.

Cash contracts are standard for first-line players in the league. Four hundred players in the league, that is, seven to eighty players, can get this contract.

With this kind of contract, you can get five to one hundred thousand US dollars in cash from the company a year. You don't have exclusive sneakers, and you can only wear ordinary sneakers provided by the company.

A very small number of people already have a certain degree of popularity, perhaps called small stars, such as Zhou Quan. These people can get 100,000 to 200,000 US dollars in cash, and even have their own exclusive sneakers, but that's it.

Either customized sneakers, or ordinary sneakers with exclusive logo and color matching.

Philip knew very well that with Zhou Quan's current qualifications, he could only get this kind of contract at most, and he was fighting for this kind of contract now.

It's a pity that Adidas doesn't even want to give me this kind of contract.

The negotiation did not last long. Adi's attitude was very tough, and Philip did not insist much and quickly ended the negotiation.

Then he began to prepare for negotiations with other companies, but in his heart, he preferred Skechers, because Skechers had promised to give Zhou Quan a cash contract for exclusive sneakers, with the amount reaching 300,000 US dollars per year.

, considered the best cash contract.

The only thing he had to consider was that Skechers had just been established and the quality of the sneakers made him a little worried.

This was also the reason why he negotiated with other companies first. He still put Zhou Quan's sports safety first, and could only put Skechers, which showed the greatest sincerity, last.
Chapter completed!