It's really weird.

Nike's manager and Curry talked about renewing his contract, and instead of meeting at Nike's headquarters in Ohio, he made an appointment to rent a hotel public conference room downstairs at the Warriors' training gym in Oakland!

Curry doesn't understand this kind of behavior, he is also a person born in Ohio, Nike headquarters is also in Ohio, the two sides signed a contract in their hometown, and then invited ESPN and other big media to report on it, isn't it more prestigious?

It can only be said that Nike does not pay enough attention to Curry.

At 10 minutes, the three of them left the training camp on the fifth floor and went to the conference room on the second floor.

There were five people from Nike, and the team was not led by a famous Nike sports agent, but by a Nike executive, a director in charge of Nike sports marketing, named Nick.

With a warm smile on his face, Nick shook hands with the three of them politely.

Old Curry asked, "Where's Lynn?"

Lynn is Nike's gold agent, James is the one he signed, the biggest name, and the most powerful, Curry and his son want to see Lynn, not necessarily to get James's treatment, but to get Nike's attention.

Nick hurriedly apologized: "I'm sorry, Lynn can't come over because of something, I'll talk to Stephen about the contract extension, and I will give Stephen the best conditions within the framework of Nike players." ”

Is that really the case?

Curry couldn't believe it, Alex and Curry Sr. were even more talented, and they were going to see if they would quote a sky-high price to test Nike's sincerity.

Nike is so proactive in showing goodwill, and there is no way.

Kanye was suddenly poached by Yang Lei, which made Nike highly vigilant.

A sneak attack can only succeed if it is a surprise for the first time, and after Nike is more vigilant, Yang Lei still wants to sneak attack a second time, which is very difficult.

Although Curry is not as popular as James, Durant, and Griffin, he is also one of the players with great potential, and in the recent period, all Nike players whose contracts expire must be faced carefully, otherwise they will only have to cry if -sports poach again.

A few people sat down, and a group led by Nick unfolded their laptops and connected them to the PPT.

Nike is such an international large company, and there is a whole set of processes to do everything, such as the procedures for signing players, and each player even has the same signing steps, which is very standardized.

It's a pity that when a staff member played Nike's business plan for Curry in the next five years, Durant's name was written on the first page of the PPT.

It's because it's so standardized, and the templates are all the same.

Durant, the leader of the Thunder, a popular star, is one of the NBA superstars in the ascendant.

When Old Curry saw Durant's name, he immediately became upset, what does this mean? I don't even bother to change my son's name?

Alex whispered an S start with an S in his mouth, and his fist slammed on the chair, especially unhappy.

Curry is also a little confused, he doesn't have a good impression of Durant, both were born in 1988, and many media in the NBA like to stir up trouble, so he and Durant will be compared if they have nothing to do.

And he is only slightly better this year, but Durant is the core of the team, and the treatment of these two sides is completely different, he was sprayed badly in the media, and he must be very dissatisfied with Durant.

"So you didn't pay attention to Stephen at all. ”

Old Curry and the disappointed Alex glanced at each other, and the two exchanged glances, didn't say anything, and just continued to listen.

At this moment, Nick also found the problem, and quickly changed his words and said: "This is our report to Durant, and I will explain the general situation to you." ”

The staff immediately realized that something was wrong, and after the initial panic, the team quickly stabilized, one person flickered, and the other quickly revised it on the laptop, passed it through the network, and quickly wrote all Curry's name correctly.

It doesn't seem too late to make amends.

With a layer of fine sweat on his forehead, Nick tried to stabilize the mood of the Curry family, and after the new PPT was revised, he began to explain it seriously.

Among the signing plans that Nike produced for Curry, there are commercials, commercial performances, fan meetings, and year-round jersey and sneaker sponsorships.

The most important signing amount of the contract, Nike gave Curry $500,000 a year, and a four-year contract of 14 million.

Curry was a little confused.

Only sign with him for 4 years?

Why is it that other stars sign for 7 years, 10 years, and he only has 4 years? The shorter the number of years, the less optimistic Nike is, and it is very likely to be abandoned, I am afraid that the most important reason is that there are constant injuries, and Nike does not want to spend too much money on Curry to support this sick number.

Next, talking about the amount, Nike divides its NBA stars into four grades, superstars, ordinary stars, potential players, and average players.

The $500,000 a year is almost the second tier of Nike, that is, the position of an ordinary star, and the signing package given is very different from the treatment of superstars such as Durant.

Endorsement sponsorship fees, technical support, advertising resources, commercial contracts, second-level treatment and first-level treatment are not a little bit worse, for example, Durant is now $10 million a year, James is 15 million a year.

"I've been playing for four years, and in Nike's eyes, I'm just a normal star?"

Curry was so surprised and annoyed.

He doesn't know how far he can grow in the future, but if a person doesn't have a dream, what's the difference between him and a salted fish?

The same goes for Curry and Alex, who must want Curry to be a superstar like James, Kobe, or even a legendary epic player like Jordan.

Dreams must be done, and whether they can be realized is another matter.

Today was just a preliminary briefing, an exchange of views, and the two sides chatted casually, and the talks were over.

"Ok, thank you Nick, thank you for taking the time to introduce. ”

"Okay, please reply as soon as possible, contact me. ”

The two sides shook hands amicably, and the staff behind Nick continued to wait, changing to a new PPT template, because the Golden State Warriors had some other players who needed to negotiate contracts with Nike.

Look, they were all signed in batches, no wonder they were not arranged to sign at the Nike headquarters, Curry buried a few small thorns in his heart, it was too hot just now.

Out of the conference room door, the three of them continued to walk up to the Golden State Warriors' training hall.

I also greeted a few acquaintances along the way, and the other party asked curiously how the contract was negotiated, and Curry's answer was OK.

"Stephen, they don't value you as much as they thought they would. ”

"I know, Dad. ”

Curry was not angry, looked at the bench players who were sweating and actively stealing on the court, and said: "It's all related to results, I'm not as good as Durant and Griffin, and Nike certainly can't give me the treatment of a superstar." ”

Curry Sr. patted his son on the shoulder: "But I think you'll be better than these guys, Nike is absolutely blind, I can guarantee you." ”

Agent Alex asked, "I don't think it's a good thing that the Nike family is dominant, Stephen, have you ever thought about changing sponsors?"

Who else can I change?

Adidas is not professional at all in basketball shoes, and the first thing that comes to Curry's mind is Reebok, and he asked, "You mean Reebok?"

Alex asked rhetorically, "Why don't you consider X-Sports?"

Curry frowned, the Huaxia company that made a fuss?

Although there are many players in the NBA who have signed with Huaxia, such as the Rockets, the championship team that has been on fire in recent years, half of the team has signed with X-Sports.

However, Curry was a little frightened about the distant and mysterious China, and he was afraid that if there was a difference of opinion in the future, or if there was a major technical problem, he would not get a positive response from X-Sports.

I'm even more worried that a contract of just a few years will not be enough for X-Sports to run him into a world-renowned star, and his best career will be wasted, his prime age is between 25 and 0 years old, and he can't do it all over again.

There's a lot of inner drama in Moe God.

There was a burst of music.

Alex took out the phone in his pocket, answered it and said a few words, which quickly turned into a surprised expression.

"Okay, we'll come over now, yes, I know the address, I'll see you later. ”

After Alex hung up the phone, he beckoned, and walked out excitedly with the Curry father and son, his expression was still very mysterious, and he didn't say anything in the crowded arena.

It wasn't until the three of them got out of the basement and came to the car that Alex said, "Yao wants to see us." ”

"Yao Ming, is he here on behalf of X-Sports?"

"It should be, anyway, Nike gave us time to discuss, why don't we listen to Yao's offer?"

"Yes, the negotiation is not one-sided, and there is no harm in asking a few more parties. ”

Alex is a professional broker and everything is done with the best interests in mind.

He had a good idea to use Yao Ming's offer to raise the price for Nike, and if there was an opportunity, he would quietly spread the news to attract more companies to participate in the competition, and they would be able to get benefits in the middle, and it was best for Adidas, Puma, Reebok, Under Armour, and New Balance to come and bid, and the highest bidder would win.

The meeting with Yao Ming went well, and the two sides met at a Michelin-starred restaurant near the Auckland Department Store and ate the famous steak together in the evening, and Yao Ming was treated.

Sure enough, Yao Ming came over on behalf of X-Sports, and he was straightforward and offered a good price, $4 million a year.

Alex didn't make it clear whether he wanted to, but said: "Yao, you know what? Nike's contract with Stephen expires in a week, according to the previous contract, as long as Nike matches your offer, you can renew it with Stephen, $4 million a year is really not a very good offer, this is Stephen's normal value, but it's not your offer to poach Stephen from Nike." ”

Curry didn't speak, his current value at Nike is about $2.4 million a year, but it is common sense to raise his salary every time he signs a contract, and he has performed okay this season, and it is not an exaggeration to rise to $4 million.

Yao Ming smiled and said, "I know Stephen is worth it, but the doctor's diagnosis doesn't seem to think so, and Nike doesn't necessarily match our offer." ”

Alex choked instantly, and his face changed.

This is also the most headache, the most fear, and the weakest point of Curry's father and son, and Curry's injury report may still have a little problem.

The reason why Nike did not sign Curry immediately and neatly, but quoted an offer of $400,000 a year was because of the Golden State Warriors' diagnosis.

Nike is a businessman, and businessmen are profit-seeking, and they need to consider the rate of return.

In the NBA, there are too many talented stars ruined by injuries.

The champion in 2007, Greg Oden, known as a once-in-a-decade talent, was known as "Oden the Great", but unfortunately ruined by constant injuries, who still remembers his name?

Another one, Derrick Rose, the champion in 2008, was the rookie of the year in his rookie season and the youngest VP in NBA history, but after playing for four years, he tore his cruciate ligament and could no longer reach the original height.

The top pick in the 2009 draft was Griffin, Curry was only the seventh in the year, and Curry seems to be following the old path of Derrick Rose, isn't that what scared Nike?

With a 4-year contract of 15 million, just one quote can guess Nike's heart.

Another one, Maddie in Yao Mai's combination is also a superstar who has been plagued by injuries.

Maddie is lucky to get injured after becoming famous, which is still acceptable, after all, the money and reputation are in hand.

It just so happened that Yao Ming, who was sitting opposite, was Maddie's closest comrade-in-arms, and he happened to be an example.

Yao Ming said: "Tracy and I are good friends, although it is a bit inappropriate for me to say that his injury, but according to my experience, large companies like Nike and Reebok seek stability and do not seek more, and if your injury report is not ideal, Nike is likely to give up on you." ”

He said it very cruelly and bluntly, there are too many stars under Nike, and there is no need to be healthy, do you have to use injured ones?

Curry was a little unconvinced: "Can X-Sports guarantee that I won't get hurt in the future?"

"Of course not guaranteed, no one can guarantee it, including Nike, but I have a few points to share with you. ”

Yao Ming held up a finger: "First, X-Sports designed many pairs of center shoes for me, and protected me many times, so I was able to get two NBA championship rings, and finally my retirement was due to a knee injury, not an ankle, and the doctor diagnosed that if it weren't for X-Sports' years of protection, I would have retired early a few years ago." ”

The person concerned showed up to say, and Curry had nothing to say.

Even if Yao Ming is bragging, they can't refute it, because whether the players are injured or not, when they are injured, and how much role shoe protection can play are impossible to predict and quantify.

Yao Ming raised a second finger: "Second, we come from the mysterious China, and acupuncture and massage are the only magic weapons for us to win." Stephen, you can really try our Huaxia Strength and Conditioning Coach, it will definitely be good for your injury recovery and physical training. ”

Curry finally smiled: "I've long heard that the Rockets' strength and conditioning coach is the most popular. ”

Yao Ming said: "Now X-Sports has trained a group of experienced coaches on its own, whether you sign with us or not, I will introduce one to you. ”

"Thank you. ”

Sometimes, metaphysics is more effective than science, especially in a religious family like Curry, Yao Ming is a smart businessman, and of course he will do what he likes.