ESPN’s Darren Rovell has done his due diligence to report the most detailed update on the current situation regarding Kevin Durant and the future of his sneaker line. As most of you know, Durant’s deal with Nike recently expired, with Under Armour making an offer to KD worth between $265 and $285 Million over 10 years. Atop of that, the deal is also said to include a community center built in Durant’s mother’s name as well as stock incentives in the company. KD’s recent visit to UA headquarters, as well as the possible perks of his stock incentives, were described as such:
“On Aug. 13, Durant went to Under Armour’s headquarters and was said to be blown away by its pitch. Scheduled to be there only a couple hours, Durant stayed the day and worked out in its shoes.
The pitch, at the time, didn’t include talk of specific numbers, sources said, but it impressed Durant with attention to detail about his life, the hometown flair and the return on investment of its stock, which makes up part of his compensation.
During the presentation, Under Armour executives showed the $4.5 million worth of stock it gave NFL owners in 2006 (as part of its deal with the league) and what it was worth today — north of $100 million.
Under Armour shares are up 96 percent over the past year, compared to those of Nike, which are up only 21.5 percent. Among public athletic shoe brands, no company has performed better than UA over that time period. The Durant deal is so big that if it is consummated, one has to wonder if it will have material impact — for better or worse — on shares of the company’s stock.”
Rovell reports that aside from Under Armour, adidas was also in talks with Roc Nation regarding Durant but has since withdrawn from the race. Under Durant’s deal with Nike, the Beaverton brand has the right to match Under Armour’s offer. Even if Nike doesn’t match, Durant also has the right to decline the UA offer and sign with Nike if he so chooses too.
Durant’s new representation, Roc Nation Sports, appears to be a major player in these negotiations, already pulling in big checks for KD. Since Kevin Durant joined the Jay Z backed sports agency, Roc Nation has re-signed Durant with the likes of Sprint and BBVA. They’ve also dumped KD’s deal with Gatorade in favor of a bigger deal with beverage company Talking Rain.
Is Under Armour the next check? The deal is definitely there, but it’s ultimately up to Nike to match the offer and KD to decide. Keep it locked to Nice Kicks for all updates and give us your take on this situation in the comment section.
Lead image by Brad Barket/Getty Images via Zimbio
