Chen Qiang intends to give George McCann a sneaker contract and make George McCann the first star under Nike.

So Chen Qiang asked Edward Ireland next to him: "I plan to let George McCann endorse my sneakers, how much do you think I should pay for the endorsement?" ”

"What? You're saying George McCann is the advertising endorsement for sneakers? Edward-Ireland's mouth opened in surprise, as if he had misheard.

"You heard me right, I'm talking about George McCann." Chen Qiang said as he pointed to George McCann, who was playing on the court.

"Mr. Chen, why are you looking for him? He's just a college student. If you need stars to advertise your sneakers, you have more options, and we have a lot of more professional basketball players in our league who can be the face of Nike sneakers. Edward Ireland spoke.

"I value the potential of George McCann, and I think he'll be a superstar in basketball when he goes into professional basketball!" Chen Qiang said.

"Superstar?" Edward Ireland repeated the somewhat unfamiliar word, and then went on to persuade: "Mr. Chen, when it comes to potential, I think Bob Curlan is superior. In college basketball, George McCann is nowhere near as good as Bob Curland, and I don't just mean height, but also record and fame. Bob Curlan is already a star in college basketball, and George McCann is just a rookie in comparison. And the two are the same age, and at the moment, it seems that Bob Curlan's potential is clearly superior. ”

Edward Ireland said and pointed to the other giant on the pitch, "Bob Curland".

Chen Qiang is not familiar with Bob Curlan, on the contrary, George McCann's name has already been thunderous. So in Chen Qiang's heart, of course, he is more inclined to sign George McCann.

But actually, in the late forties and early fifties, Bob Curran was really more famous than George McCann.

In high school, Bob Curland was already well-known in Missouri, otherwise Oklahoma State University would not have been able to offer Bob Curland a scholarship. In contrast, George McCann has not even played in high school leagues, and his slow movements, clumsy movements, and high myopia have made George McCann considered a "piece of rotten wood" by middle school coaches.

George McCann was only valued by the coaches of the college team after entering DePaul University, but he spent his first year in college training and did not play, and Bob Curlan at the same time was already the absolute main force of Oklahoma State University.

Bob Curlan has also proven himself worthy of a scholarship, having won two NCAA championships for Oklahoma State and two NCAA Player of the Year himself. He has also won two awards: Helmus Player of the Year and Sports News Player of the Year.

Both awards are given specifically to college basketball players. One of the Helmos Player of the Year was established by the Helmus Foundation and lasted from 1904 to 1978, with the last winner being Larry Bird.

The Sports News Player of the Year award, which has been going on since 1942, is now part of the NCAA Player of the Year competition, and if you win it, you have a much higher chance of becoming the NCAA Player of the Year.

There has never been a shortage of top stars among the winners of the Sports News Player of the Year in 1983 and 1984, Michael Jordan won this award two years in a row, Patrick Ewing in 1985, David Robinson in 1987, Tim Duncan in 1997, Kevin Durant in 2007, Anthony Davis in 2012, and Sports News Player of the Year in 2019. It was none other than the new champion, Zion Williamson, the "Fat Tiger" from Duke University. As for LeBron James, the reason why he didn't win this award was not because James was not strong enough, nor because James was not popular, but because he went directly to play in the NBA without going to college.

After graduating from college, Bob Curran did not play professional basketball, but joined the Phillips Petroleum team of the AAU League, AAU is an amateur league, and the reason why Bob Curran went here to play is mainly because he can directly become a regular employee of Phillips Oil, and in the future, after Bob Curland retired, he did serve as a senior executive of Phillips Oil.

After all, in that era, playing basketball could not make a lot of money, many basketball players were just barely making ends meet, and there were not a few players who had to rely on part-time jobs to support themselves in the offseason. Compared to working at an oil company, the salary and package are much stronger, so it is understandable that Bob Curran chose to work for an oil company instead of playing professional basketball.

However, there are also advantages to playing amateur basketball, such as being able to participate in the Olympics.

At that time, professional basketball players were not allowed to participate in the Olympic Games, and this rule lasted for many sessions, so there were no NBA stars in the Olympic Games at that time. Later, in order to increase the ratings of the Olympic Games, the International Olympic Committee and the World Basketball Association had to modify the rules of participation to allow professional players to participate in the Olympic Games and other international basketball competitions, so the basketball "dream team" of the United States was born.

Bob Curran was not a professional basketball player, so he competed in the 1948 and 1952 Olympics and led the U.S. team to two championships. Especially at the 1952 Helsinki Olympics, the U.S. team was able to defeat the Soviet Union thanks to Bob Curlan, a giant tower. The final score of that game was 36-25, and it was also hailed as the most boring Olympic basketball final in history, and it was because this game was so boring that the World Basketball Association decided to introduce the 30-second rule.

The 1952 Olympics were also the pinnacle of Bob Curlan's career as an athlete, and at the opening ceremony of that year, the flag bearer of the U.S. team was Bob Curlan, and the position of the flag bearer at the opening ceremony had a special meaning for a country's team, especially for a sports power like the United States. Bob Curlan was able to be the flag bearer for the opening ceremony of the U.S. team, which is enough to see that he is extremely popular in the United States.

At the same time, George McCann, although he had won the NBA's scoring and rebounding titles, and led the Minnepolis Lakers to win the championship, was really inferior to Bob Curran in terms of popularity. Fifty years of NBA did not have the influence of later generations, and even reached the level of the four major sports leagues, and the NBA at that time could only be regarded as a small professional league in the United States, where could it compare with the influence of the Olympic Games. And George McCann, the NBA's No. 1 at the time, was far inferior to Bob Curlan, the flag bearer of the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games.

Back in 1945, it was an extremely important year in George McCann's life, it was in this year that he matured into a leader-level player, although he was not able to lead DePaul University to the NCAA championship, but he won the NIT championship, which was no worse than the NCAA championship.

NIT is the abbreviation of National Invitation Tournament. Before the sixties, the NIT was the same league as the NCAA, and even in the thirties and forties, the NIT had an advantage over the NCAA league. The NIT competition will only invite those strong universities to participate in the competition, and the rules of the game are the same as the NCAA March Madness, which is a single elimination, because the participating teams are all strong teams, so the game will naturally be more enjoyable.

But this kind of invitational tournament has a huge drawback, that is, it is not easy to expand its influence. Since the number of invitations is limited, and only a dozen colleges can receive invitations to NIT leagues a year, they will not be interested in NIT games for those schools that are not invited.

In contrast, the NCAA casts a wide net, although there are only a few teams that enter the "March Madness" every year, but every university has the opportunity to participate in the NCAA league, and finally relying on extensive participation, the NCAA gradually took the lead in the competition with the NIT.

In 1973, NBC adjusted the broadcast schedule of NCAA games to provide prime-time television exposure to NCAA games, which also made NIT unable to match the NCAA. Eventually, NIT was acquired by the NCAA and became a league under the NCAA to "comfort" teams that didn't make it to the NCAA March Madness.

Today, George McCann is still on his way to the NIT championship, and he is indeed much weaker than the long-established Bob Curran.

The two are the same age, Bob Curlan became famous earlier, Bob Curlan is more famous, Bob Curlan has better grades, and Bob Curlan also seems to have more potential. So Edward Ireland thinks that Chen Qiang should choose Bob Curland.

Chen Qiang also fell into thinking. Originally, he planned to choose George McCann brainlessly, because George McCann is a superstar in the NBA, and Bob Curlan is an unfamiliar name.

But after being introduced by Edward Ireland Yifan, Chen Qiang also felt that Bob Curran was a very good spokesperson.

"Otherwise, sign both of them!" Chen Qiang finally made a decision.

In this era, athletes' advertising endorsement contracts are not as exaggerated as in later generations, and ordinary athletes can be signed for $500 in advertising fees. $500 is less than half a year's salary for the average American, but it is already very satisfying for athletes. In the future, ordinary people will not be able to hire athletes to advertise for half a year's salary.

……

The much-anticipated "Battle of the Titans" came to an end, with Oklahoma State University finally winning 55-44 over DePaul University of Chicago.

George McCann walked off the court disappointed, eager to win the match, not just to lead his team to the final, but also because he was against Bob Curlan.

A center who is taller than himself, who became famous earlier than himself, and who also has excellent skills, in George McCann's opinion, Bob Curlan is bound to become his lifelong enemy!

But George McCann is content to play at Madison Square Garden, and since watching the all-star game televised, George McCann has dreamed of playing at Madison Square Garden, and now it's finally a wish come true.

"Mr. McCann!" Someone suddenly stopped George McCann, who turned his head and saw a man in a suit.

It's close to the players' locker room, part of the interior of Madison Square Garden, a position that would be impossible for the average fan to enter, and it's clear that the man in the suit is the staff here.

"Sir, do you have something to do with me?" George McCann asked.

The man in the suit immediately introduced himself: "Mr. McCann, my name is Jared, I wonder if you are interested in endorsing a sneaker?" ”

"Sneakers? Endorsement? I? George McCann was stunned.

"That's right, we chose you." Jared said with a smile.

"But I'm still a college student. Why did you choose me? George McCann asked subconsciously.

"Of course we do, but we see your potential for the future." Jared replied.

……

Until he signed his name on the contract, George McCann was still in a state of confusion.

Nike actually gave him a five-year sneaker endorsement contract, in George McCann's opinion, this is simply incredible, he is just a college student, not some influential big-name athlete, Nike is willing to sign him, what is the difference between this and giving him money for nothing?

Of course, George McCann's signing fee is not high, with a cumulative $1,800 over five years, an average of $360 per year. But George McCann was already satisfied, and $1,800 was enough to live on for several years, at least for the next few years, he could have no worries about food and clothing.

And there are some additional terms in the contract, such as the right of first refusal after the end of the five-year contract; For example, if George McCann enters the NBA, he will immediately get an additional bonus of $300 and so on.

On the other hand, Bob Curlan also got a sneaker contract from Nike, and Bob Curran also signed a five-year deed of sale.

Bob Curran's family conditions are not very good, he has several younger brothers who are in school, and the family needs money at the time, so in the face of the olive branch thrown by Nike, Bob Curran agreed without hesitation.

Although George McCann and Bob Curland's advertising endorsements are not large, Chen Qiang's choice of the two of them as the spokespersons for Nike sneakers has puzzled many people. There are so many excellent players in the professional league, Chen Qiang did not choose, but chose two college students, Chen Qiang's operation is really incomprehensible.

Chen Qiang didn't bother to explain, in Chen Qiang's opinion, signing George McCann for five years for $1,800 is really worth it!

However, Chen Qiang did not put all his eggs in one basket, Edward Ireland's words reminded Chen Qiang that there are indeed many excellent players in the current professional league, although their influence is not as good as George McCann, who will become a superstar in the future, but they also have a lot of fans.

"Anyway, the advertising endorsement fee for athletes is cheap now, so let's sign a few players from the league by the way!"

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