Basketball boy, starting to shine from the slam dunk

Originally, Zhuang Yu was eager to return home and planned to simply deal with things here and then return home quickly, but he was still delayed.

The first is the championship parade, which is definitely something that cannot be missed.

After the championship parade, various endorsement contracts and business invitations came in one after another, keeping him very busy.

As the saying goes, the more famous you are, the more trouble you have.

Zhuang Yu's performance this season was outstanding. He was the regular season scoring champion and the All-Star vote leader. After entering the playoffs, he defeated the Jazz, Warriors, and Rockets. Finally, he met the Cavaliers in the finals and successfully led the team to defeat the Cavaliers and win the championship.

Some people outside have already called Zhuang Yu the current "No. 1 player in the league", which shows that his status in the NBA is no longer just an All-Star player.

His achievements have long surpassed Yao Ming and even the vast majority of active NBA players. His title as the best player in the league may be somewhat controversial, but no one would think it an exaggeration to say that he is one of the faces of the league. He deserves the title.

It can be said that the only one who can be compared with Zhuang Yu in the current league is Zhan Kudu.

Whether it is personal strength, personal achievements, or popularity, Zhuang Yu absolutely crushes other players in the league, except Zhankudu.

Even at this moment, after the Lakers won the championship, Zhuang Yu's popularity surpassed that of James, Kuznetsuo and Durant, making him the undisputed number one among all NBA players.

This is true whether abroad or at home.

It is conceivable how great the commercial value of Zhuang Yu was at this time.

Some companies that have signed endorsement contracts with Zhuang Yu, such as Anta Sports, Armani Clothing, Huawei Mobile Phones, Pepsi Cola, TCL TV, etc., their senior executives are all smiling from ear to ear at this moment.

Especially Anta Sports.

After all, Zhuang Yu is a basketball player, and Anta Sports, as a sporting goods company, is the most compatible with Zhuang Yu. It can make the most of Zhuang Yu's fame to enhance Anta's brand value, brand image, and product sales.

When Anta signed a contract with Zhuang Yu, it was aiming to go global through Zhuang Yu.

Of course, at that time they just felt that Zhuang Yu had great potential, but they did not have much confidence in whether this goal could be achieved.

After all, even Yao Ming's influence abroad was far less than that in China.

The reason why Anta is willing to spend a large sum of money to sign Zhuang Yu is actually due to this consideration. The best result is that Zhuang Yu can achieve the same results as Yao Ming, or even better.

Then they really have hope to expand overseas markets with Zhuang Yu and further enhance the brand value of Anta Sports.

Even if Zhuang Yu fails to surpass Yao Ming, at least Zhuang Yu is unique in China, which is enough to help Anta take the lead in the competition among domestic sports brands.

However, they did not expect that in just 4 years, Zhuang Yu has grown to where he is today, even winning the championship and being named FMVP.

Anta had been conducting internal research before the Lakers won the championship.

Previously, Anta signed a four-year contract with Zhuang Yu in 14 for 4 million Chinese yuan plus sales commission. The contract expires this year.

Last summer, Anta wanted to renew the contract with Zhuang Yu in advance, but the agreement was not reached. Zhuang Yu insisted on waiting until the contract expires before renewing the contract.

This left enough space for Zhuang Yu, but it put Anta in a passive position, as they would never allow themselves to lose Zhuang Yu, their cash cow.

So before the finals, Anta was already thinking about how to renew the contract with Zhuang Yu and what price they would have to pay.

But no matter what the price is, it is a good deal for them.

After all, Zhuang Yu was selected to the All-Star team for three consecutive years, won the league's scoring title twice, and won the best defensive player twice. It can be said that he is already one of the top players in the NBA.

Such a player's influence is not limited to China, his influence is world-class.

What Zhuang Yu can bring to Anta is not only marketing revenue, but also the enhancement of the brand image value of Anta.

Just look at Under Armour.

How much benefit did Under Armour get after signing Curry?

In the past, Under Armour was just a younger brother among younger brothers compared to Adidas and Nike, but now it is showing a trend of catching up with the big brothers.

Originally, before the finals, Anta contacted Zhuang Yu and wanted to renew the contract with him in advance, and they were willing to pay any price.

For example, they are willing to match any contract offered to Zhuang Yu by any competitor, and continue to retain the right to share Zhuang Yu's sales, and will also inject Anta's latest technology into Zhuang Yu's personal product line, the "Yu series", to make the Yu series a brand like "AJ".

However, Zhuang Yu did not agree at that time.

After all, it's before the finals, so there's no need to rush. Besides, facing the finals, he doesn't have the energy to deal with these things.

Anta has no choice but to wait.

As a result, the Lakers defeated the Cavaliers 4:1 to win the championship, and Zhuang Yu was named the Finals MVP.

Now Anta is in a bit of a dilemma.

Before Zhuang Yu won the championship, they still had the confidence to renew the contract with Zhuang Yu, but now that Zhuang Yu has won the championship, his popularity and commercial value have reached a peak.

Obviously, competitors such as Nike, Adidas and Under Armour will not let him go. They are likely to offer Zhuang Yu a sky-high contract that is unimaginable for ordinary people.

It could even be a lifetime contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars!

If this is true, Anta will be in big trouble.

You know, a lifetime contract offered by Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour is very attractive.

Looking at the entire history of the NBA, there are only a handful of players who have been able to sign lifetime contracts with these sports brands.

For example, Michael Jordan once signed a lifetime contract with Nike, which will give him the right to receive a permanent 5% dividend from the AJ brand.

This allows Michael Jordan to receive hundreds of millions of US dollars in dividends from Nike every year, and it is permanent. As long as the AJ brand exists, he can make money without doing anything.

And James.

Nike offered James a lifetime contract in 2015, which, according to media reports, was worth more than $10 billion.

They also built a building named after James so that he could have his own museum.

There was also Allen Iverson, who signed a lifetime contract with Reebok, which included a trust fund of 3200 million US dollars. Iverson could receive 45 million US dollars from it every year when he was 55-320 years old.

There is also former Rockets star Tracy McGrady, who also signed a lifetime contract with Adidas, but the details of the contract have not been disclosed and there are still many different opinions. According to media estimates, he should be able to get 500-600 million US dollars from Adidas every year.

Although Iverson and McGrady's lifetime contracts are not as dazzling as those of Jordan and James, there are only a few people in NBA history who can sign lifetime contracts, and even Curry and Durant don't have one yet.

Regardless of the value of the contract, it is a great honor.

This makes Anta very worried.

Imagine that even Curry and Durant don't have lifetime contracts.

If Nike, Adidas, or Under Armour offered Zhuang Yu a lifetime contract at this time, how attractive would that be?

And it's not impossible.

Because compared to Curry and Durant, Zhuang Yu's personal achievements today are no worse than theirs, and Zhuang Yu also has a special identity, he is a Chinese.

It can be said that whoever can dominate the world will occupy the Chinese market.

In recent years, with the rise of domestic brands such as Anta and Li Ning, Anta has become a leader among them. Their business territory is constantly expanding. It not only has the Anta Sports brand, but also includes many sports brands, covering almost all aspects of sporting goods, and is actively expanding outward.

This makes Nike and Adidas very vigilant. They don't want to see another Under Armour rise, which would inevitably have an impact on their market share.

The biggest NBA star signed by Anta before was Klay Thompson.

At that time, Nike and Adidas didn't care much.

Later, Zhuang Yu came into being. As he grew up, he gradually became a superstar. Nike and Adidas could no longer sit still.

They had long regretted missing out on signing Zhuang Yu due to their arrogance. They had approached Zhuang Yu more than once and were even willing to pay the penalty for Zhuang Yu's breach of contract and snatch Zhuang Yu away from Anta, but they were all rejected by Zhuang Yu.

And now.

With Zhuang Yu's victory, his popularity reached a peak, and his commercial value also reached a peak, making Nike and Adidas even more anxious.

They have realized the commercial value of Zhuang Yu, and Zhuang Yu will become the key for them to seize the Chinese market and prevent Anta's expansion.

If they can snatch Zhuang Yu away, then Anta will lose their most valuable star, and it will become difficult for them to continue to expand outward and further enhance their brand image and value...

What's more, Zhuang Yu can also help Nike or Adidas completely occupy the Chinese market.

You should know that in the past few decades, Nike and Adidas have always been the leaders in the sporting goods market. It is no exaggeration to say that they are the two largest players in the market.

However, the two sides have never been able to determine the winner in the competition in the Chinese market.

There is only a temporary difference in superiority and inferiority, but no one can crush the opponent. After all, whether it is product strength, brand image, or the stars under their names, the two sides are not much different.

Nike and Adidas also competed for Yao Ming, but in the end it was snatched away by Reebok.

Both sides missed an opportunity to completely overwhelm their opponents.

Now, such an opportunity has come again.

As long as they can sign Zhuang Yu, they will not only be able to suppress pursuers like Anta, but also truly defeat their old rivals - at least in the Chinese market.

So will Nike and Adidas offer Zhuang Yu a lifetime contract?

Of course it's possible.

Even if they don't offer Zhuang Yu a lifetime contract, they would definitely be willing to follow the example of Derrick Rose and offer him a contract with a term of more than ten years and a total value of over 100 million US dollars.

In 2012, Derrick Rose signed a 13-year endorsement contract with Adidas with a total value of US$2.5 million.

At that time, Rose was only the youngest regular season MVP in history. He had never won a championship or a scoring title.

And now Zhuang Yu is obviously stronger and more influential than Ross was back then.

After all, this is 2018, not 2012.

Zhuang Yu is still so young, so it is not surprising to offer him an 8-10 year contract with a total value of 3-4 million US dollars.

Not to mention a lifetime contract, it would be attractive enough for Nike and Adidas to offer Zhuang Yu a long-term contract like this.

8-10 years, total value 3-4 million US dollars!

That's US dollars. If converted into Chinese currency, the total value will reach 20-25 billion.

This is extremely exaggerated and puts Anta under great pressure!

That’s more than 20 billion. Although it’s not a one-time payment, it’s still very exaggerated. It’s at least million per year on average.

You should know that in 14, Anta signed a four-year contract with Zhuang Yu, with a total value of only 4 million Chinese yuan. If you convert it, the average annual endorsement fee is a full twenty times different!

Before Zhuang Yu won the championship, Anta felt that they could still match any contract offered to Zhuang Yu by their competitors, but after winning the championship, they began to feel unsure.

After two days of discussion, Anta Company made a decision - they would renew Zhuang Yu's contract at all costs.

Therefore, Anta Company sent Li Chengdong to the United States, hoping to finalize the contract renewal with Zhuang Yu as quickly as possible.