The day after beating the Warriors, Lin Yu flew to Los Angeles.
Jeff Schwartz's assistant had already been waiting in his car at the airport gate. Lin Yu, wearing sunglasses, followed Schwartz, followed by Jimmy McGill, his personal lawyer.
Schwartz opened the car door for Lin Yu, and Jimmy McGill got in from the other side.
"Go directly to Sunset Boulevard."
Jeff Schwartz got into the car last. He asked his assistant in the driver's seat to drive, and then turned to look at Lin Yu in the back seat: "Let's go to the restaurant on Sunset Boulevard first to complete the contract with Under Armor, and then go to Hollywood tomorrow.
The studio has officially started shooting the first promotional video."
Lin Yu nodded without any objection.
Originally, he had to complete the contract with Coca-Cola during this trip, but at the suggestion of Jimmy McGill, the signing was postponed. The subject of the endorsement contract will be changed to Coca-Cola China Branch, which will take some time to change.
"Under Armor is here this time with their senior vice president of management, Eric Haskell. The guy with a bald head and glasses after entering the door is. In addition to signing a contract, this signing also includes their sneaker designer.
You will also be present, Lin, and you can communicate with their sneaker designers about your ideas for the first signature sneaker, and Under Armor will make some design adjustments based on your ideas."
After arriving at a high-end restaurant on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood, and getting off the car, Jeff Schwartz informed Lin Yu of some things to note after the meeting.
Lin Yu only heard a general outline, and his attention was completely attracted by the prosperity of Los Angeles.
Needless to say, there is a lot of traffic on Sunset Boulevard. People come and go on the sidewalks on both sides of the street. Even in the cold winter, there are still many beautiful and handsome men in cool clothes among the pedestrians passing by.
In Lin Yu's view, the biggest difference between what he sees in Los Angeles compared to New York is that there are more beauties in Los Angeles and they are more beautifully dressed.
And that's as it should be, because this is Hollywood.
After entering, the waiter led the way and led Lin Yu and his party to a private room on the top floor.
The waiter pushed open the door, which was almost two people high, and Lin Yu finally saw the scene in this private room.
The furnishings in the private room were luxurious. Under the huge chandelier, there was a long dining table. A bald white man sat in the middle, with several whites, blacks, and even a yellow man sitting next to him.
"Welcome, Mr. Lin, I am Eric Haskell, the executive vice president of Under Armour."
Before Lin Yu could say hello, the bald white man sitting in the middle stood up and stretched out his right hand towards Lin Yu with a smile on his face.
Lin Yu shook hands with him, greeted each other, and then sat down facing each other.
"Mr. Lin, you must have seen our sincerity in this cooperation. We have offered almost the highest price in the industry, which also reflects the importance we place on you."
Lin Yu nodded and responded: "I know, so I chose Under Armor without hesitation."
Eric Haskell smiled and said: "That would be your wisest choice."
"As for the signing, we have discussed it with Mr. Jeff Schwartz many times. The final version of the contract has been finalized. You can take a look at the contract first."
After the polite remarks, Eric Haskell handed over the drafted contract and got down to business.
Lin Yu took over the contract, read it over briefly himself, and found that there was nothing wrong with it, then handed it over to Jimmy McGill behind him for another review.
Generally speaking, this kind of endorsement contracts are quite rigorous and will not cause problems. Therefore, even if Jimmy McGill is not a well-known barrister, with his ability, it is more than enough to do this kind of contract review work.
.
Jimmy McGill put on his glasses and began to read the contract from beginning to end, not very quickly and looking very serious.
The room was quiet and everyone was patient. They knew that this was a necessary process before signing the contract.
After a long time, Jimmy McGill put down the contract in his hand, took off his glasses, and whispered to Lin Yu: "No problem, the only thing you need to pay attention to is the last one. Under the same price, Under Armor has the right to you.
You can’t refuse this priority right to renew the contract, this clause is a bit harsh.”
Lin Yu nodded. The priority to renew the contract was compensation for shortening the term to three years, and it was also what he had negotiated with Under Armour.
Then, there will be no problems with this contract and it can be signed.
"Mr. Haskell, I think we can sign."
Eric Haskell smiled and picked up his pen.
"Two copies, just sign."
On the other side, Jeff Schwartz also handed Lin Yu a pen. Lin Yu first signed his name on the contract in front of him, and Eric Haskell also signed another contract.
Then the two exchanged the contracts in their hands and each signed another contract.
The simple signing ceremony was completed, and there was a round of applause in the private room.
Eric Haskell extended his right hand towards Lin Yu: "Welcome to Under Armor."
Lin Yu also extended his right hand, shook hands again, and expressed his gratitude: "Thank you, Mr. Haskell."
After the signing was completed, Lin Yu finally had another exclusive sneaker contract, worth US$6 million over three years. In this era of 2005, this price was definitely not low.
"Mr. Lin, let's order food, and you can chat with our designer by the way." After the signing was completed, the atmosphere in the private room became very harmonious.
Eric Haskell introduced several well-known Under Armor sneaker designers to Lin Yu, and then said: "Before you, Under Armor's investment in basketball was limited to college basketball. We signed the University of Wisconsin
The University of Madison also has cooperation with the University of North Carolina in the production of basketball props and jerseys, but other than that, we have not been involved in the basketball field."
"You are the first basketball star we signed, which is our first and most important step in investing in the NBA."
"We will use our strongest sneaker design resources to design the best Under Armor basketball shoes for you. We cannot guarantee that your new sneakers will not be inferior to Nike's best sneakers, but we can guarantee that your new sneakers will not be inferior to Nike's best basketball shoes."
The first pair of sneakers can definitely reach the average level in the field of basketball shoes."
Then, Eric Haskell pointed to the yellow man next to him: "This Mr. Park Bo Gum, he is Asian like you. He is the director of Under Armor's basketball equipment design department. Regarding your first
You can have detailed communication with him about the design ideas and concepts of a sneaker."
Lin Yu nodded, but at the same time he felt disappointed that he finally saw a yellow man who was actually a South Korean stickman.
Before he opened his mouth, Park Bo Gum asked a question: "Mr. Lin, do you have any special requirements for the color of your sneakers?"
The Korean-accented English made Lin Yu feel a little uncomfortable. As for the color of the sneakers, Lin Yu thought about it: "Add a little Chinese red, just like Yao's sneakers."
Park Bo Gum hesitated for a moment: "But your team, the Celtics, is a team with green as the main color. It is impossible for us to design a sneaker with red as the main color like Reebok does."
Lin Yu was stunned for a moment and thought to himself, does this guy not understand English?
"No, what I mean is that you can add Chinese red to certain parts of the sneakers. Instead of the main color being red, the main color can be green and white, and then add a little red between the two colors, such as the tongue.
Parts, you can add a unique red logo, etc."
"If that's the case, then there's no problem."
Regarding the design of sneakers, Lin Yu didn't have any general ideas. He only mentioned one thing: there must be more Chinese elements in the sneakers.
Lin Yu knew very well that before he became a dunker, if he wanted to sell shoes, he had to manage the domestic market well.
If he wants to please the domestic market, his sneakers must have more Chinese elements. Ideally, his sneakers can become unique Chinese shoes.
Finally, Lin Yu emphasized: "Mr. Park, what I mean is that there must be more Chinese elements in the sneakers. I hope you will not add non-Chinese elements, such as some Korean and Japanese elements."
Park Bo Gum bowed to Lin Yu: "Absolutely not, Mr. Lin."