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It’s not every week that mainstream news merges two of my podcast worlds into one story, so if you’ll indulge a brief detour from the NBA Finals, let’s talk about Steph Curry’s new endorsement deal with Li-Ning. The news came down earlier this week from Shams Charania and ESPN, and was subsequently updated with a dollar figure:
Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry has signed a 10-year, $400 million endorsement contract with Chinese sports apparel company Li-Ning, industry sources told ESPN’s Shams Charania, ending a drawn-out recruitment process following Curry’s departure from Under Armour in November. …
The agreement will include basketball products, athleisure lifestyle wear, the ability for Curry to sign athletes under his brand, and a full golf line.
Curry is one of my favorite players of all time and I’ll spend the next 30 years defending his legacy to anyone who asks, but this will be more of a China post than a basketball post. In general, I had three, parallel reactions to this deal.
