First of all, endorsement contracts with an annual salary of 5 million US dollars are already rare among rookies in the entire league!
Except for talented players like James who have shown great commercial value before entering the NBA, most rookies will only receive contracts of less than US$1 million at the beginning.
For example, last year's No. 1 pick - Blake Griffin.
Even though he showed great talent in college, the first sneaker contract he got after being drafted by the Clippers was only worth $600,000.
Until this season, Griffin showed his unique "aesthetics of violence" with his stunning dunks again and again.
Then aj (air.jordan) took a liking to him and gave Griffin a $600 contract.
This also triggered a lot of discussion at the time.
Many fans feel that a rookie who has just played in his first year got a contract that 90% of NBA players cannot get, which is a bit counterproductive.
Finally, an insider at AJ who did not want to be named revealed that the company felt that Griffin's style of play could attract many fans, so it gave him a price that exceeded his current ability.
This allowed the incident to subside.
But it's better now...
Shen Fei immediately offered two $500 sneaker contracts.
Once Curry and George accepted it, they became some of the players with the highest advertising revenue in the league!
Moreover, this is only the first condition given by Shen Fei.
As for the second benefit - building a personal brand, in the history of the NBA, only Jordan has received it from Nike...
Today's aj is Jordan's personal brand!
Curry and George were speechless for a long time.
They know that once their boss makes a promise, he will definitely not break it!
Without much hesitation, George spoke first: "Boss, I am willing to sign. I know this is the highest price I can get now, and I will not let you down."
Curry followed closely and agreed to the invitation of the Asian youth.
Satisfied, Shen Fei took out two contracts and asked them to sign on the spot.
After the two briefly read the contract, they signed it and became members of Under Armor.
The only thing I remember to mention is that the entire negotiation process from the beginning to the completion of the signing only took 15 minutes.
The efficiency is astonishingly high.
This is partly due to Shen Fei's high price, but also because Curry and George trust him.
After seeing the two of them off, Shen Fei looked at the two contracts with satisfaction, but began to plan his next actions in his heart.
[Under Armor has no problem with sports technology, but its appearance design is still too European and American.]
[We need to find a few Chinese designers to add Chinese elements into the design... After all, Huaxia is the coolest.]
Shen Fei thought to himself.
As a time traveler, he knows very well that in the near future, domestic brands such as Peak, Li Ning, and Anta will gradually begin to cooperate with NBA stars.
The appearance design of these sneakers is very good.
Shen Fei plans to combine Chinese and Western styles and apply China’s unique aesthetics to sneaker design.
[This can probably be regarded as a kind of cultural communication.]
He thought in his heart.
In the future, Shen Fei also plans to sign Jeremy Lin.
If Yi Jianlian or other Chinese players join in the future, Shen Fei also plans to sign them as well, making Under Armor the back garden of Chinese players.
This is not difficult for him.
If you can benefit from this, that's naturally the best; if it's a loss-making transaction, Shen Fei doesn't care too much.
After all, he can get generous material rewards just by relying on the tasks occasionally issued by the system.
Shen Fei is more concerned about the Rockets' championship and the development of the Chinese men's basketball team.
............
One day later, the Rockets were at home and faced a challenge from the Kings.
It is worth mentioning that today Toyota Center welcomed a special audience - the king's daughter - Ajiali.
She and Shen Fei made an appointment a week ago to watch football together, and then asked the latter to treat her to a late-night snack.
In the box, prepare to watch the game together.
Originally, Ajiali wanted her father Ranadive to accompany her because she was shy.
But the big boss happened to have a big deal to discuss today and couldn't be there.
Ajiali had no choice but to go to the appointment alone.
She just turned 18 this year and has received higher education since she was a child (graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, one of the top ten prestigious schools in the world).
Coupled with her innate ambition, Ajiali has never been in love.
Like today, it was the first time in her life to be in the same room with a man other than her father.
Fortunately, the other protagonist in the box - Shen Fei, was a veteran of flowers in his previous life.
He could tell at a glance that Ajiali was a little reserved, and quickly spoke to ease the embarrassment.
"If I had known you were dressed so casually today, I wouldn't have dressed so formally."
"It's like coming here for a meeting."
Shen Fei said with a smile.
Ajiali wore light makeup today, which made her already excellent eyebrows look even more outstanding.
He was wearing a slightly playful T-shirt. Although it had cartoon patterns printed on it, it didn't look childish. It was obviously made by a designer.
The lower body is a pair of simple and smart high-waisted jeans, which perfectly modifies the proportions of Ajiali's outstanding figure.
Overall, Shen Fei liked what she wore today. It was fresh and full of energy.
Of course, it may have nothing to do with her dress, but simply because Ajiali looks good.
As for Shen Fei, he was wearing a high-end casual suit as always.
He is nearly 1.9 meters tall, has a good build and good looks.
However, the two of them really have two different styles today.
"Don't you want to treat me? I want to dress more casually so that I can go out on the street."
Ajiali's eyebrows were crescent and she responded with a smile.
While speaking, her right hand unconsciously touched the end of her hair.
Shen Fei observed carefully and immediately noticed this detail.
Generally speaking, if a girl always laughs and fiddles with her hair when chatting with you, there is a high probability that she has a crush on you.
This is Shen Fei’s own experience.
"Well, you are still thoughtful."
"Sit down first. The game won't start for a while. I'll ask my assistant to get some drinks."
Shen Fei changed the topic.
Then, the two of them took their seats together and waited for the game to start.
At this time, the players from both sides were doing their final warm-up activities.
As for the on-site director, there was an unusual scene in the box.
[Oh my God, who is this woman? How come she is in the same box as the boss?]
The director's heart was burning with gossip and he immediately cut the camera.
The next moment, the figures of Shen Fei and Ajiali appeared on the big screen above the Toyota Center.
"wow~"
"Ahhh!"
The scene was immediately filled with screams from female fans.
"Shen Fei...wuwuwu...my treasure, how can you date other women?!"
"Who is that woman? How could she do this?!"
"I am against this marriage! Feifei belongs to our female fans!"
...
Complaints from female fans kept coming. One male fan couldn't stand it any longer and scolded him: "A talented man and a beautiful woman are a perfect match. It's your turn, you monster, to object."
"What did you say?! Say it again! Who is the monster?!"
While the two were arguing, Ajiali's name was printed on the screen, along with a brief introduction - the daughter of King's boss.
As soon as this introduction appeared, the noise instantly became much quieter.
Shen Fei was speechless for a while.
[It seems that not only China, but people from beautiful countries also have the concept of being well-matched...]
He thought to himself, then turned to look at Ajiali.
At this time, the king's daughter's face suddenly turned red to her ears.
It wasn't until the screen cut away that Ajiali said: "It's over. We both will be in tomorrow's sports newspaper. I don't know what they will write..."
"Not only newspapers, but also social media will be full of our photos in a few minutes."
Shen Fei smiled and shook his head.
"Ah...how could this happen..."
Ajiali rubbed her temples, looking helpless.
"It won't happen, just let nature take its course."
Shen Fei said lightly.
Ajiali wanted to say something else, but the Asian young man raised his chin to signal that the game was about to begin.
............
After the interlude, as the referee threw the ball high, the game officially began!
Yao Ming jumped up hard and won the duel with Cousins.
Rockets attack first!
Curry pushed the ball across half court and came to the top of the key to start organizing.
In the first attack of the game, he chose to hand the ball to Yao Ming in the low post, who launched an attack on Cousins.
This is the usual tactic of the Rockets - at the beginning, let Yao Ming in the inside play singles to get a feel for the game.
And Cousins, who defends him, has been performing better and better recently.
Under the guidance of the new coach (the candidate suggested by Shen Fei) - Mike Malone, he averaged 16.7 points and 10.2 rebounds per game this month.
This data seems to have reached the threshold of All-Stars!
However, Cousins is still only a first-year rookie after all.
Facing Yao Ming's low post attack, all he could do was to use all his strength to fight against the former.
But Jiang was still too old. Dayao suddenly turned around and then faked a shot to shake him up...
"Bang~"
Realizing that he had been deceived, Cousins tried his best to dodge in the air, but still couldn't avoid it and bumped into Yao Ming.
After Dayao was hit, he took advantage of the situation and threw the ball.
The next moment, the referee blew the whistle and Cousins's thug fouled.
At the same time, the basketball hit the net.
Two points scored, plus a penalty!
As soon as Yao Ming came up, he gave the famous fried chicken on the opposite side a blow to the head.
In the stands, Ajiali frowned slightly.
As soon as the competition started, her love brain shut down and her career soul began to burn brightly.
Shen Fei looked calm.
All the Rockets' starting lineup played today, and after two days of rest, their physical strength has returned to its best.
In Shen Fei's view, unless a miracle happens, it may be difficult for the Kings to win at the Toyota Center.