"David, I messed everything up, you have to help me!"
Stern, who was currently in the NBA president's office and was busy working, suddenly received a "help" call from Phil Knight, chairman of Nike.
"What happened?"
As a friend and business partner for many years, Stern immediately asked with concern.
"Yao Ming's team ended the contract renewal negotiations with Nike and turned to contact Reebok.
As soon as the news came out, our Nike stock price evaporated by 60 million, and it is still falling.
We wanted to reopen negotiations with Yao Ming's team, but they refused because Yao Ming was preparing for the Asian Men's Basketball Championship.
I know they must be negotiating with Reebok. If they succeed, Nike will be doomed! "
Phil Knight told Stern that Nike's stock price had plummeted because of the failure to renew the contract with Yao Ming. He wanted Stern to help him think of a way to bring back Yao Ming and save Nike's stock price.
You know, after Jordan retired, Nike's stock price has been sluggish. In the past two years, it happened to be hit by the Nasdaq stock market crash, and then it was affected again.
Rumor has it that Jordan came back again because of the impact of the stock market crash and 911...
It was not until last year that the U.S. stock market recovered, and Nike also made some improvements. At the beginning of this year, Nike's stock price finally exceeded 10 billion US dollars.
Not long ago, Nike signed James, the quasi-number one pick, and the stock price soared even higher. In just one week, it rose by more than 100 million.
However, the stock price has not yet stabilized, but because Yao Ming did not renew his contract, investors were pessimistic about Nike's prospects, and it instantly fell by 60 million.
Looking at this situation, it should be considered normal for Nike's stock price to continue to fall by two to three hundred million.
Recently, Nike is raising funds to acquire Converse.
At this juncture, if the stock price drops sharply, it will undoubtedly have many negative chain reactions and cause considerable damage to Nike.
Although Stern didn't know Nike's plan, he didn't agree hastily to do Phil Knight this big favor.
After thinking for a moment, Stern wisely asked: "Why does Yao Ming want to end the contract extension negotiations with you?
As far as I know, he is not a greedy and difficult person to get along with.
You guys drafted him four years ago, and if for no other reason than that, I don't think he's leaving Nike. "
When Phil Knight heard Stern's question, he could only honestly tell Stern the cause and effect: "So, so, so, so, so..."
It has to be said that both Phil Knight and Nike executives underestimated the influence of Yao Ming and the Chinese market.
From the perspective of a sneaker owner, centers do not sell shoes, and although Yao Ming is an All-Star center, he does not have the value and influence of a true All-Star center.
In addition, Asian players are not that popular in the NBA.
It's because Yao Ming doesn't sell shoes, and his future prospects are not so bright.
Therefore, the team sent by Nike to negotiate a contract extension with Yao Ming only offered a cheap contract of $1.6 million over four years.
Originally, the price pursued by Yao Ming's team was not high, one million U.S. dollars a year. As prices increased year by year, the overall price was only 5 million U.S. dollars in four years.
After all, as early as in the CBA, Nike was kind to Yao Ming and offered him a price of US$200,000 over four years.
This is undoubtedly an astronomical sum for Yao Ming, who is still receiving a fixed salary in the CBA and has not entered the NBA to become a millionaire.
However, because Nike's management is too arrogant, they even questioned that Yao Ming was the parallel import number one pick and was not worth a sneaker contract with an annual salary of 1 million.
Then, Yao Ming, who did not want to be hot-faced and cold-hearted and continue to be humiliated by foreign adults, said that he would temporarily put aside the contract renewal negotiations and return to China to concentrate on preparing for the Asian Championships.
That is to say, in the recent period, Reebok has been in a situation where it has nowhere to spend its money because of its 110 million pursuit of James, the quasi-number one pick, in 10 years.
Therefore, in order to create obstacles for rival Nike, Reebok sent a team to try to negotiate with Yao Ming's team.
When Yao Ming's team heard that Reebok had offered him a six-year, $40 million contract, everyone was stunned. This is not a soft girl coin, but a beautiful knife!
Yao Ming himself was surprised that he was so valuable.
After realizing his own value, Yao Ming no longer had hope for Nike, which had taken a child labor contract and treated him like a cow or a horse.
As a result, Yao Ming's team took the initiative to "disconnect" from Nike, and Reebok took the opportunity to release the news that Yao Ming was about to join.
Subsequently, Nike's stock price plummeted and Reebok's stock price rose sharply.
The contract hasn't been officially signed yet, but the rumors about Yao Ming's sneaker contract have already affected the stock prices of the two listed companies.
Only then did Phil Knight, chairman of Nike, and executives from other sports brands realize the value of Yao Ming and the Chinese market.
"Phil, I will help you contact Yao Ming and his team, but you can't make any more mistakes, you must show greater sincerity!
Reebok may be richer than you guys, Nike, so you have to be prepared to not be able to renew Yao Ming's contract.
Let me remind you that another Chinese player appeared in the NCAA finals.
He is still a defender and may have greater commercial value than Yao Ming in the future.
You can contact him first, and I can tell you in advance that he will definitely enter the NBA as a first-round pick. "
Stern helped Phil Knight with advice, hoping that Phil Knight would put aside his restraint as a white man and give Yao Ming the contract and respect he deserved! Make money, business, not shabby!
If the contract offered is not as good as Reebok's, then they can only settle for the next best option and choose Duan, who is about to participate in the draft.
Stern has been paying attention to Duen for some time. Originally, he was only planning to contact a certain team and select Duen with a second-round pick.
Unexpectedly, Du En was quite successful. Starting from the joint trial, he went from the end of the second round to the middle of the first round.
Although a prospect is a prospect, Stern can still use the connections at hand to ensure that Duan will not fall into the second round.
“David, I’ve noticed that little guy for a long time.
However, his and Yao Ming's agents are both Bill Duffy!
He has rejected the contract we offered.
Even Carmelo Anthony is not prepared to sign a shoe contract with us. "
Hearing what Phil Knight said, Stern probably understood. Phil Knight not only offended Yao Ming, but also offended Bill Duffy.
"How big of a contract did you offer Duen before?" Stern asked curiously.
"One million in four years!" Phil Knight did not hide what Stern meant.
In fact, this price is pretty good.
Ordinary lottery picks can usually only get sneaker contracts worth 200,000 to 500,000 per year, while normal non-lottery first-round picks can only get sneaker contracts of 50,000 to 200,000 per year.
However, Duen is not an ordinary first-round pick, but a Chinese defender who relies on the Chinese market.
Just like Nike used American center to measure Yao Ming's value before, this is undoubtedly insulting.
"Bypass Bill Duffy, go directly to Yao Ming and Du En! I will help you create opportunities." Stern suggested again.
Phil Knight expressed his gratitude after hearing this: "Thank you, David.
Don't worry, we are ready to provide Yao Ming with a contract worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and we will not let him down again!
As for Duan, I decided to send Michael to contact him. I thought he would not refuse. "
Under Phil Knight, it is not only hooks that can sign Chinese players, but also A-cones!
