Nike, Under Armour and Adidas have all told ESPN that they have no interest in signing Lonzo Ball, a potential top pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, to an endorsement deal.
According to reports, LaVar Ball, Lonzo’s father, insisted that the company’s license his upstart Big Baller Brand as well. He also showed the companies a shoe prototype that he hoped would be Lonzo’s first shoe.
“We’ve said from the beginning, we aren’t looking for an endorsement deal,” LaVar Ball told ESPN. “We’re looking for co-branding, a true partner. But they’re not ready for that because they’re not used to that model. But hey, the taxi industry wasn’t ready for Uber, either.”
In mid-April, Nike consultant George Raveling, at SportsBusiness Journal’s World Congress of Sports, called LaVar “the worst thing to happen to basketball in the last hundred years.”
