Landon Buford
Today is Mamba day and to celebrate Nike rolled out a colorway for Kobe Bryant’s AD NXT FF in a “Vast Grey and a lighter alternative to the “Off Noir Clear” version. They are scheduled to be released later today according to Hypebeast’s Ambrose Leung on Nike.com and StockX.
Nike has been one of Kobe’s most loyal endorser since he signed a $40 million deal in 2003 after he was dropped from Adidas. Throughout his 20 seasons in the NBA, Bryant has been endorsed by some biggest companies in the world such as McDonald’s, Sprite (Coca-Cola), Nutella (Ferrero SpA), and Spalding.
Former NBA All-Star Gilbert Arenas recently spoke about some of the things Kobe has been able to do off the court in terms of endorsement deals.
“Kobe Bryant made off the court than he did on the court just off of one deal, and know he gets paid from an airline. That is the beauty of being a Laker, and that is what the Lakers organization over everyone else. That is why they are the Godfather of the NBA. So, if the Lakers really want a player, there is nothing that can stop them because they have something that no one else does. If you have that Lakers’ stamp as a player, it is like having a Princeton, Yale, or Harvard stamp and you can walk into any business and people will sit down with you all because of that Laker uniform.”
The single deal off the court that Arenas was referring to is the BodyArmor, which is a sports drink that now rivals Gatorade and Powerade. Kobe Bryant invested $6 million into the company, and as of August 2018, it turned into $200 million in just four years according to the Washington Post
The Airline endorsement that Arenas is referring to is Turkish Airlines in 2010, the airline and Kobe Bryant ink a two-year deal per CNBC’s Darren Rovell.
“I’ve never been to Turkey,” Bryant told CNBC. “But all the guys on the team in the league who have been keep saying it’s one of the hottest places to go to.”
“This another deal for me that proves that we’re global,” Bryant said. “And it obviously makes sense with them starting flights from L.A.”
Gilbert Arenas and Kobe Bryant had a dual scoring back on December 17, 2006, which saw Arenas drop 60 and dished out eight assists, while Bryant scored 45 points. Arenas only averaged 21 points contest in the ten games before entering the game against the Lakers.
During Bryant’s 20 year career, he averaged 25.0 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists and is currently ranked third on the all-time scoring list. Current Laker LeBron James is not that far behind from passing the first-ballot Hall of Famer.
Back in March, Bryant had the opportunity to bring The Naismith Trophy on stage and headed to former Houston Rocket Yao Ming. Teams will be fighting for a berth in the 2020 Olympics in the World Cup this summer.
“It’s a greater sense of honor to be playing for your country,” Bryant said. “When you start out the game, you hear your national anthem being played, you see everybody in the arena with their flags representing their country and color, it’s just such a great honor to be a part of that. It’s extremely special.”
