Although in the NBA, Anta lacks competitiveness compared to Nike and might be affected in various award selections.
However, due to national factors, Zeng Xingyang can’t choose Nike, and he has confidence in his own abilities. He believes that when it comes to awards selection, he can have an absolute advantage.
What is their talent worth? He’s got luck on his side!
Anta’s development momentum in the coming years looks promising and will become a mainstream sports manufacturer domestically.
"Xingyang, I’m very sorry for being so late in meeting you here."
"Because the contract offered to you is quite complex, we took a long time to discuss. This is our final offer."
Zhang Yang politely said upon seeing Zeng Xingyang.
Zeng Xingyang took the contract and pretended to skim through it.
Before it was given to him, his agent team and legal team had already reviewed it. He was just double-checking it.
The price of the contract was noticeably higher than the initial talks, thanks to Zeng Xingyang’s increasingly stable performance recently.
His agent team negotiating with Anta were also very confident.
Seeing Zeng Xingyang not speaking, Zhang Yang continued, "Although our current market scale is not as large as Adidas and Nike, we have been deeply rooted in the domestic market for years. We have no issues with capital reserves and brand recognition."
"A four-year contract worth 100 million US Dollars, plus a lifetime 5% commission on sub-brand sales, this is our final cooperation proposal."
Zhang Yang was a bit nervous when discussing these numbers.
This is the first time Anta has offered such a high price to an athlete!
It’s worth noting that in 2014, Anta signed a contract with Thompson for just 18 million US Dollars over 6 years.
And the amount of 100 million over four years to Zeng Xingyang is huge and quite extreme for Anta.
"This represents our utmost sincerity, and we believe in your future commercial potential to work together on long-term cooperation and development."
Zhang Yang’s tone was very humble; if Zeng Xingyang signs the contract but doesn’t reach an All-Star level, it would be considered a failed investment for Anta.
Certainly, their courage to offer this high price to Zeng Xingyang is also due to his Chinese identity.
Even if Zeng Xingyang doesn’t become an independent All-Star player in the future, as long as he survives in the NBA, he is the sole standout among domestic players.
Such commercial value wouldn’t devastate them too much.
In other words, unless Zeng Xingyang encounters major injuries, his minimum commercial value is still high.
If it were a foreign player, they wouldn’t dare to offer such a price.
Even in this era when sneaker endorsement prices are skyrocketing, the price James Harden signed with Adidas was just 200 million US Dollars over 13 years.
The top three NBA players in sneaker deals currently are Durant with 300 million over 10 years, Curry with a base of 5 million plus a 4.5% sales commission, totaling 300 million over 10 years, and James with a lifetime contract with Nike averaging around 36 million annually.
As long as Zeng Xingyang signs this contract, his base price will leap to become the fourth highest in the league, and if the sneakers sell well, surpassing James is also possible.
For a rookie who has played over twenty games, receiving such an offer is unprecedented.
After reading through the contract, Zeng Xingyang finally said, "I feel your sincerity, the contract is fine, let’s sign it."
Anta offering such a price even without being sure of his superstar potential is indeed impressive.
Zeng Xingyang is emotionally very willing to support the development of domestic goods.
As a promising player, becoming a superstar is just a matter of time, no problem flying high with them.
Moreover, the base price will need to be redefined after four years.
Seeing Zeng Xingyang finally agree, Zhang Yang took a deep breath.
Soon, Zeng Xingyang signed his name on the contract.
"Click click click!!"
After taking photos, it was time for a dinner gathering.
Though Zeng Xingyang doesn’t like attending social gatherings, he wouldn’t be so rude when someone comes all the way to offer him a billion US Dollars.
"Xingyang, my son loves watching you play, could you sign a jersey for him?"
"Xingyang, my daughter is also a fan, it’s her birthday tonight, could you record a birthday greeting for her?"
"Skip the voice message, let’s do a video instead."
"Alright alright, thank you."
"Xingyang, you played brilliant against the Warriors. I’ve never been so excited...."
The dinner gathering became an absolute fan meet.
These high-ranking executives, all well-versed and articulate, had Zeng Xingyang drinking a few extra glasses.
No wonder Wade often ends up exhausted at every China trip.
After the dinner gathering, Zeng Xingyang didn’t drive under the influence, but stayed at the hotel.
At night, with a full belly, inevitably thinking about desires.
Headache, not having a girlfriend is also bothering.
Zeng Xingyang took out his phone, scrolling through contacts to see if there’s any suitable girl to call out.
At this moment, it had to be someone familiar, safety first.
Seeing Song Xue’s name, Zeng Xingyang paused.
About 40 minutes later.
Song Xue appeared in Zeng Xingyang’s hotel room.
"Why are you so drunk?" As soon as she came in, Song Xue saw the slightly drunk Zeng Xingyang and quickly helped him.
Song Xue was dressed differently than the work attire Zeng Xingyang usually saw her in, wearing a white long dress tonight, her slender waist gracefully elongated, her long hair tied in a ponytail resting on her right shoulder.
Seeing Song Xue up close for the first time, Zeng Xingyang noticed she had a delicate oval face, lightly made up, with bright eyes under long eyelashes, sparkling with a hint of reproach.
Her high and straight nose, slightly red lips combined with the lavender fragrance emanating from her body, continuously assaulted Zeng Xingyang’s senses.
Zeng Xingyang half-hugging Song Xue felt her extremely soft waist, acknowledging her both physically and mentally.
It was the first time Song Xue saw Zeng Xingyang a bit drunk, and being half-hugged made her heart race uncontrollably.
With his left hand, Zeng Xingyang nudged Song Xue against the wall and bent down to kiss her lips.
Although she knew something would happen this late at Zeng Xingyang’s hotel room, Song Xue still felt a bit panicked.
If she chose to push away, she believed Zeng Xingyang would stop.
Despite being 1.75 meters tall, Song Xue still seemed a little short in front of Zeng Xingyang. She raised her heels slightly and wrapped her arms around Zeng Xingyang’s neck, trying to respond.
Her actions were clumsy, leading her to accidentally bite Zeng Xingyang’s lip.
Zeng Xingyang was not a seasoned veteran in romance, but he wasn’t a novice either, as he gradually guided this awkward girl.
Deep in the night, Zeng Xingyang dreamt of playing one-on-one with a female co-player.
After playing an hour-long match, Zeng Xingyang and Song Xue had another overtime game at three in the morning...
The next day, around 10 AM, Zeng Xingyang drove Song Xue back to her rented apartment complex.
Although they broke a personal boundary, their relationship didn’t immediately heat up. After all, outside of work connections, Zeng Xingyang doesn’t know much about Song Xue’s life.
Last night was largely due to the lower body controlling the brain.
However, Zeng Xingyang’s judgment of her kindness and temperament proved correct.
Song Xue had sound character, not using this matter to pressure for becoming his girlfriend.
"Xingyang, the outside world is very complicated. Not everyone genuinely cares for you. Don’t call other girls after getting drunk in the future." Song Xue reminded when leaving the car.
"Okay, then I’ll call you next time." Zeng Xingyang smiled.
"Humph, just don’t remember to call me only when you’re drunk!" Song Xue grumbled.
Saying that, she got off the car, slamming the door hard, seeming to vent her dissatisfaction about being used as Zeng Xingyang’s tool.
"Got it, I’ll pick you up tonight and we’ll have dinner." Zeng Xingyang shouted through the rolled-down window.
Hearing Zeng Xingyang’s words, Song Xue’s legs trembled a little.
Are NBA players’ stamina so intense? Want to go again?
The news of Zeng Xingyang signing with Anta quickly got exposed.
"Damn, 100 million US Dollars over 4 years, Anta must be betting all its reserve cash!"
"Awesome, awesome, support domestic products."
"Nike and Adidas must be crying, but they couldn’t offer this much."
"I wonder how much has Zeng Xingyang’s value increased with the current exchange rate?"
"Xingyang, my sister is pretty, I want you to become my brother-in-law."
"Endorsement price is second only to James, Durant, and Curry, awesome!"
There were numerous discussions online, with fans chatting excitedly.
Zeng Xingyang’s endorsement as a star player has reached sky-high!