Former Duke star Marvin Bagley is expected to be drafted as high as second in the upcoming NBA Draft. But he’s making big news in the shoe endorsement world.
Bagley’s expected to sign a deal with Puma. It is reportedly going to be the richest rookie shoe deal since Kevin Durant back in 2007.
Via CBS Sports:
According to The Athletic, Bagley’s five-year contract will be the richest rookie shoe deal since the one that Kevin Durant signed with Nike back in 2007. That went for seven years and $60 million (Durant was offered $70 million from Adidas, but turned it down), so we can expect the numbers on Bagley’s deal to be similar.
Marvin Bagley, projected to be one of the top picks in the NBA draft next week, is going to sign a five-year deal with Puma that is expected to be the largest rookie shoe deal since Kevin Durant, sources tell @TheAthletic
— Jon Krawczynski (@JonKrawczynski) June 14, 2018
It’s a big score for Bagley financially — we’ll have to wait to find out exactly how big — but it’s also a major win for Puma. They land one of the biggest names in this year’s draft class and will hope that this is just the first shoe to drop (again, pun intended). If Bagley becomes a star, he can help influence future athletes to join the brand.
This would be a huge deal for Puma, who I honestly thought was out of business. Bagley could singlehandedly revive an entire shoe company. All Puma has to do on their end is not make shoes that look like Steph Curry’s lame dad shoes.