The largest sports apparel in the world has had an awesome Monday. After adidas decided not to renew its deal with the NBA, Nike stepped in and immediately jumped on the chance to steal the licensing deal away from arguably their biggest competition.
It was reported on Monday afternoon that Nike had snagged the two men that are sure to bring in boatloads of revenue for the company in the foreseeable future.
ESPN’s Darrell Rovell reported that both top draft picks Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell had signed on with the sports apparel giant.
Nike has signed the top two picks in the NBA Draft: Karl Anthony Towns & D'Angelo Russell pic.twitter.com/4qMbab8lyY
— Darren Rovell (@darrenrovell) August 3, 2015
Twitter was certainly excited to have them on the team.
Welcome to the Nike Family @Dloading and @KarlTowns pic.twitter.com/0FtunELCjJ
— Heidi Burgett (@heidiburgett) August 3, 2015
Russell, who was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers at number two, joins some pretty big names under the Nike brand. Teammate and surefire Hall of Famer Kobe Bryant is one of them.
While adidas seems to have missed the door to a huge opportunity, they may be entering another big one by the end of the week. CBS Sports reported that adidas offered Houston Rockets star James Harden $200 million to leave Nike and join their team. Nike has until Friday to match the offer or lose him.
Adidas also swooped up two first round draft picks of their own. It looks like they have snagged two rookies on shoe deals.
Adidas has signed Heat G Justise Winslow & Wizards G Kelly Oubre Jr. to shoe deals. Two exciting & dynamic rookie wings.
— Nick DePaula (@NickDePaula) August 3, 2015
It is surely shaping up to be a wonderful preseason of basketball and if these guys play their cards correctly, they could be in for some big paydays.
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to Nike