Adidas Offers Houston Rockets’ James Harden $200 Million Contract

Athletes get paid. A lot. Last week Russell Wilson made bank, and now as Houtson Rockets guard, James Harden’s contract with Nike expires, the franchise player is a “free agent” for clothing brand giants.
In a report by ESPN, Adidas is in the best position at the moment to win over the All-Star. They write,

“The company has submitted a bid of $200 million over 13 years to sign Houston Rockets guard James Harden, sources told ESPN.com. Nike, whose deal with Harden recently expired, has until the end of next week to match the deal or lose him. A $200 million offer is huge, considering it represents half of what the brand paid for 11 seasons as the NBA’s official uniform supplier. Earlier this year, Adidas announced that it would not fight to renew that deal, which will see its competitor Nike take over after the 2016-17 season. With incentives, if the deal is consummated, Harden could very well make more from Adidas in the coming years than the Rockets. Harden signed an $80 million contract extension with Houston in 2012 that goes through the 2017-18 season.”

Let’s just put that into perspective. “Harden could make more from Adidas than the Rockets.” He already is making $15.7 million from them and this deal would adidas another $15 million a year – money many franchise players in the past and future will never see. It is interesting however, that they are offering this much money, as he does not have a signature shoe, like Lebron or Durant, but that may just be his selling point.
At 25 years old, he is hands down a successful basketball player in the NBA and the world, but with this deal, he may be inching closer and closer to being the one of the highest paid athletes in the league. With fellow teammates Andrew Wiggins and Damian Lilard on his team, Adidas has a solid footing in the Rockets, and if they play their cards right, this deal could blast their profits to a land far, far away.

Article by Pete Aragones