Basketball Legend: When Pride Still Matters

Nike, like Adidas, chose an elder as their representative for negotiations.

Claude Mouton had been a senior executive at Nike before Jordan became part of the company; he witnessed firsthand how Jordan revived Nike from the brink of collapse and turned it into the sports goods empire it is today.

Those who had seen Jordan's heyday found it hard to believe that there would be another like him.

But Yu Fei's trajectory was traceable.

His legend began with defeating Wizards Dan.

Wasn't that a sign from God?

If Michael Jordan was destined to be surpassed, then the one to do it had not only to organize his retirement ceremony but also to watch how his own myth was dismantled.

Mouton was superstitious about Jordan.

Having grown up before the television era, he had seen those pre-television megastars, but Jordan's uniqueness lay in being one of only two black athletes since the founding of the United States to become trans-racial heroes.

A clear sign was that Jordan, as a black man symbolizing the despised skin color in the eyes of America's upper echelons, had overcome racial prejudices to snatch endorsement contracts that far exceeded those of other white athletes, right from the pockets of the middle-class whites.

As Jordan's rise and the popularity of cable TV were almost in sync, it made him the first great athlete of the cable TV world.

It was a perfect blend of personal effort and historical process.

Who could surpass such a perfect combination of timing, location, and unity?

However, the emergence of Yu Fei shook Mouton's belief.

His handsome appearance surprised many older Americans, shattering the Asian stereotypes portrayed in films. According to the collective stereotype shaped by American circles, Asians were either nerds or cowardly with small eyes, always shown obsequiously in movies. Yet, one day eight years ago, they suddenly heard of an Asian NBA player daring to challenge the God of D.C.

For whatever reason, God was traded. Then, in less than a year, he organized God's retirement ceremony in D.C., and announced the arrival of a new era with a championship.

This filled a long-standing void for American Asians: the image of a hero.

He was not the aggressive bald image like Jordan, nor the radical fighter like Ali, and definitely not the ugly duckling turned swan like Brady. He represented a typical Asian story. Diligently playing basketball, entering the NBA as a lottery pick, being suppressed, traded to Milwaukee, and then jumping up to give the world a resounding slap in that place.

Americans never thought they would see an Asian hero pressing the most invincible black force on the basketball court to the ground.

Not long ago, the great Muhammad Ali lamented, "Where have all of America's heroes gone? Why can't we see people like Bill Russell and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar nowadays?"

Yu Fei's friend, Marc Stein, wrote to Ali, "The heroes are still here, but their names are Frye and Tom Brady."

Ali replied, "You're right."

It was an era of upheaval.

The ruler of the NBA was a pure-blooded Asian, while the ruler of the NFL was an underestimated player who was almost overlooked.

Yu Fei's on-court narrative was impeccable, and his early bad reputation in the media had been completely turned around through his own efforts and the changing perceptions of the outside world.

As his reputation improved, Yu Fei presented a perfect public figure image to the outside world.

He instinctively knew how to handle this shocking role—dealing with media, knowing what to say and what not to say, when to hide and when to be public, always keeping a smile. He was the first athlete of the new era. Moreover, he chose the right sport at the right time. Basketball, a sport that originated from white invention, dominated by blacks, but now controlled by an Asian.

That was the business opportunity Nike saw in Yu Fei.

Yu Fei existed on a higher plane than Jordan.

Jordan shone alone in a league dominated by blacks and eventually went global with cable TV. But Yu Fei? He dominated a sport controlled by blacks. Jordan could not inspire all blacks, but Yu Fei could inspire all Asians.

It was like when Jackie Robinson, as a black man, pried open the doors of MLB⑴.

⑴Another trans-racial hero previously mentioned

Nowadays, Twitter is becoming popular, signaling the upcoming social media era, which is a new era different from the cable TV era.

Mouton did not know what this meant.

But Nike thought that the social media era for The Chosen One would be like the cable TV era for His Airness.

Therefore, no matter the cost, they had to make an attempt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

"Frye, I don't mean to belittle Reebok, but you know what I'm saying," Mouton spoke, "Nike is still the biggest brand in sports, with decades of foundation that one person cannot shake."

Yu Fei looked subtly at him, "What are you getting at?"

"The position you are now is the limit of what Reebok can offer," Mouton said, "but Nike can make you the king of the world."

Yu Fei asked, "Don't you already have a king?"

This was the issue Nike had to face in pursuing Yu Fei.

Mouton looked troubled, "There are isolation clauses in the contract. We can guarantee that you won't see LeBron at Nike's activities."

"Isn't that going too far? I don't want to isolate LeBron, that's unfair to him," Yu Fei said, and a nearly invisible smile appeared on his face, "If you really like him, you should continue to promote him. Conversely, if you want me to join Nike, then he is the problem you need to deal with."

The Nike executives had anticipated this scene long ago.

But they couldn't make any move before Yu Fei showed any intention of joining.

"As long as you agree, we will give you a satisfactory resolution,"

"Is your so-called resolution severing all legal ties with Nike and LeBron?"

Mouton looked troubled, "You know I can't say that."

He couldn't say, but the reason he didn't want to say it was that once his answer got out, it would deal a devastating blow to the relationship between Nike and the James camp.

"What if I really need to know that answer?"

Yu Fei asked softly.

"As long as everything goes smoothly..." Mouton said, "you will have your wish."

Upon hearing this, Yu Fei smiled at the person next to him.

It was a smile that represented victory.

Nike would end their contract with James ahead of schedule for him.

This might be more significant than the negotiations themselves, Yu Fei didn't say anymore, and the next steps were up to his agent.

Arne Trem took over the conversation and asked, "Let's talk about your contract, since you want Frye to jump ship, I assume you've prepared a very sincere contract."

Mouton nodded to the contract expert accompanying him.

Afterward, Nike's camp produced their contract.

In terms of amount, it wasn't large.

Nike offered Yu Fei a contract of six years and $200 million, obviously lower than Adidas's six years and $250 million.

However, they promised to redesign a brand for Yu Fei.

Yu Fei would not only have the leading power over the brand but would also receive a 15% profit share each year.

In other words, Nike actually shifted the money that should have been reflected in the contract amount entirely to the profit sharing.

With Nike's product strength, combined with Yu Fei's own ability to sell goods, the 15% annual profit sharing would be an income far exceeding the endorsement fee.

"Okay, we will consider it carefully,"

Trem said, then gestured to show the guests out.

This was the last thing Nike wanted to see.

To say they were tempted, Yu Fei's camp was definitely moved by the contract, but would they leave Reebok for it? No, their contract would only serve as a tool to drive up the price.

But at this point, they had no initiative.

Morta and Nike's contract experts left.

Lin Kaiwen asked, "What are the offers from both sides like?"

"Unexpectedly generous..." Trem corrected, "No, I should say, unexpectedly beyond imagination."

Although the contract wasn't his, Lin Kaiwen's appetite was piqued, "How generous?"

"Adidas is willing to give 10% of the profits annually, Nike is willing to give 15%," Trem said succinctly.

The endorsement fees were a small matter; this was the key.

Lin Kaiwen knew that Reebok made close to $2 billion last year through the "The Chosen One" brand, although it can't compare to AJ's $3.7 billion yet, but one must realize, this was a product only eight years in the making.

"What is No. 23's profit share?" Yu Fei suddenly asked.

"This is why I say they are generous," Trem explained, "In 2003, Michael converted the shares Nike gave him that year into an annual 5.5% profit share of the AJ brand."

For Yu Fei's team, this was something to be pleased about; No. 44 had outdone No. 23 in another aspect.

Lin Kaiwen stated bluntly, "I think the negotiation with Reebok is simple. Endorsement fee, we want Adidas's figure, annual profit share, we want Nike's figure."

"Kevin, you're an excellent problem-solver," Trem complimented.

"Frye, what do you think?"

Lin Kaiwen looked at Yu Fei.

"You are all correct, but Arne, it seems you've forgotten one thing."

"What's that?"

"There's no Michael here," Yu Fei corrected seriously, "You should refer to it as No. 23."