"Sorry, I'm late."
When Dunn arrived at Staples Center, Nike boss Phil Knight had already been waiting here for a long time with two Nike co-presidents, Mark Parker and Charlie Danson.
In addition, Lakers general manager Kupchak accompanied him.
"We need you, Duane! You're not late, you're here at just the right time!"
Phil Knight was as polite and courteous as ever, giving people a feeling of spring breeze.
After hearing this, Du En quickly stepped forward and came to Phil Knight and others. After greeting a few words, he continued walking inside.
Soon, Du En and others came to a conference room.
In the conference room, Lakers boss Buss, his eldest daughter Jenny, second son Jim, and team general manager Kupchak were already present.
Such a big scene basically shows that Nike and the Lakers are confident that they can negotiate Duan's sneaker contract today.
This confidence is naturally unlikely to be caused by the two families colluding behind the scenes to harm Du En's interests and seek mutual benefits.
This is a great cause for everyone, there is no need to engage in such tricks. After all, it was Duen himself who made the final decision on whether to sign a contract.
Without the money, it was impossible for Doon to sign.
Such a frivolous operation would lead to a scandal in which the Lakers and Nike teamed up to bully Dunn, a rookie.
When things get serious, the Lakers may be fine, but Nike's stock price may not be able to hold up.
Nike had offended Yao Ming for looking down on others and became a laughing stock in the industry. If it happens again with Dunn, Nike's other shareholders may also have objections.
In other words, today, Nike executives and Lakers executives are gathered here. It is obvious that Nike has given a big contract that Lakers executives feel is full of sincerity.
In everyone's opinion, there was absolutely no way Du En could refuse the extra money.
"80 million in 7 years?"
Du En took a cursory glance at the contents of the contract and was indeed shocked by Nike's generosity.
Although it is smaller than James' sneaker contract, the contract offered by Nike half a month ago was still 50 million for six years.
This suddenly adds up to 3 million yuan a year, and it’s still US dollars.
"To be precise, the guarantee part of the contract is 70 million for seven years, and the remaining 12 million is the incentive clause.
We believe in your ability and we all agree that you have the possibility to get the full bonus.
Therefore, the contract we gave is 82 million for 7 years!
If you are willing to agree, then please sign. If you don't agree, we can negotiate further if there are any conditions. "
Charlie Danson spoke face-to-face with Dunn on behalf of Nike.
At the same time, the Lakers sent Buss Jr. to act as a "translator" and lawyer, explaining the various terms of the sneaker contract to Dunn one by one.
With the reputation of the Lakers as a guarantee, Dunn was also ready to sign a contract with Nike after listening to Buss Jr.'s explanation.
There is no need to delay it any longer. As early as ten days ago, Nike had successfully acquired Converse.
It was only Tokobi's blessing that he called Du En over in such a hurry today.
After the Eagle County prosecutor formally filed an appeal yesterday, Coca-Cola, IBM and many other companies immediately announced their termination of contracts with Kobe Bryant.
The remaining sponsors that had yet to take action were criticized verbally and verbally by the media and the public, and Nike was the first to bear the brunt.
Nike just signed a big contract with Kobe a few months ago. If they terminate the contract at this time, wouldn't they be taken advantage of?
Rather than leaving the game at a loss, it is better to pretend to be deaf and mute, pretend that nothing happened, and minimize the impact of the Kobe incident on Nike.
Now the rush to sign Duen is just to divert public opinion, and then use Duen's status as a Chinese player and the MVP of the Long Beach Summer League to raise Nike's stock price.
Du En knew very well that if he continued to delay, after the public opinion passed, Nike would not value him as much as imagined.
In this case, it is better to strike while the iron is hot and formally sign the contract.
"I have two things to add. The first one is that if you are involved in infringing the interests of my motherland, I have the right to unilaterally terminate the contract without paying relevant liquidated damages."
"Okay, we will add this right away."
Phil Knight spoke immediately, confirming that Nike agreed to Duane's conditions.
Not to mention that the other side of the ocean is Nike’s main market in the future, but the foundry on the other side alone can save them hundreds of millions of dollars in costs every year.
No one has trouble with money! Phil Knight also doesn’t think they will infringe on the interests of Eastern powers in the next few years.
“The second item is my personal request.
I hope to convert 90% of the contract amount into equivalent equity.
NBA players will go bankrupt after retiring, but I believe Nike will not.
I hope to be able to cooperate with Nike for ten years, twenty years, thirty years, or even a lifetime.
I also ask Phil to fulfill this small request of mine. I hope to join the Nike family as a shareholder.
I can promise you that I will not cash out my stocks for at least ten years. "
Du En's remarks undoubtedly shocked everyone in the room.
Mark Parker and Charlie Danson looked at each other with their mouths open, and Phil Knight was even more delighted.
Nike has just acquired Converse and its cash flow is no longer sufficient. It would be great if it could reduce cash expenditures at this time.
Moreover, Dunn actively asked for equity and wanted to transform from a sneaker spokesperson into a Nike shareholder. This will undoubtedly increase Nike's stock price and bring more confidence to shareholders.
As for the Buss family members present, as well as Lakers general manager Kupchak, they were also impressed by Dunn's maturity.
When other players sign big contracts, they all require cash, and then they spend it lavishly on cars, houses, and luxury goods. They don't know how to invest. When they quit the NBA, they basically go bankrupt immediately.
Du En had just joined the NBA, and without playing a single regular season game, he chose to bet on his own potential and commercial value, and tied himself wholeheartedly to Nike, becoming a shareholder of Nike and sharing weal and woe with Nike.
You know, Adidas is in the spotlight now!
Tracy McGrady, who has an elegant style of play and has gorgeous statistics, Duncan, who has a simple style of play but is full of honors, and Garnett, who is known for his iron-clad offense and defense. They have jointly dominated the league from the regular season to the playoffs.
Nike's mainstays Jordan and Barkley have already quit the NBA, and Kobe Bryant, who just signed, has caused another scandal.
Although the potential of James and Anthony can be seen blindly, they are still too immature when they first entered the league.
At this time, Nike boss Phil Knight often feels that the future is uncertain and deeply worried.
Dunn was full of confidence and resolutely joined Nike.
Phil Knight originally thought that Duan only saw profit and only wanted to make more money, but he didn't expect that he was still a sweetheart.
As a result, Du En was not disappointed and quickly agreed: "Okay, okay!
Haha, thank you so much Duane!
In order to express my gratitude, on behalf of Nike, I will increase your guarantee amount by 7 million.
Welcome to join the Nike family, we won’t let you down! "
